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Analyzing Michigan Baseball’s hire of Tracy Smith as head coach

By Jacob Cox

Mar 3, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach/manager Tracy Smith against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach/manager Tracy Smith against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training baseball game at Salt River Fields. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan baseball has hired former Indiana and Arizona State head coach Tracy Smith as the next head coach, replacing Erik Bakich.

After nearly three weeks after former Michigan head coach Erik Bakich left for the Clemson head coaching job, and after multiple players entered the transfer portal, Michigan baseball has found its new head baseball coach.

Tracy Smith is most known for his eight-year stint at the University of Indiana. In those eight seasons, he took the Hoosiers baseball program to unfamiliar territory. That territory included five Big Ten titles and a College World Series appearance in 2013.

In 2014, Smith left Indiana for Arizona State. At ASU, Smith led the Sun Devils to four NCAA Tournaments in six seasons. He was let go by the university with two years remaining on his contract despite the success of the program.

Breaking down the hire for the Wolverines

Tracy Smith played his college baseball at Miami (OH), which is where he became the head coach before taking the Indiana job. During his time with the Redhawks, they made the MAC Tournament every year he was the head coach while making two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Michigan baseball is coming off of an NCAA Tournament appearance where they lost in the Regional Final to no. 1 seeded Louisville. It was called a “down year” for the Wolverines and Bakich had taken Michigan to the National Championship series in 2019 and competed at the top of the Big Ten.

Smith’s first task will be to put together his staff as a number of the assistant coaches on the previous staff, left to go to Clemson with Bakich, the only coach who is still on the University’s website is volunteer assistant Brandon Inge, former Detorit Tiger.

After putting together his staff, Smith will need to attack the transfer portal and get on the recruiting trail as the program needs to replace the players they lost via the transfer portal and find good recruits to replace the ones they have lost.

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The Michigan baseball program is in good hands with Tracy Smith at the helm. Maize and Blue fans should give him time to get players into the program and develop them as he has had success at every place he has been.

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