 14 — Wednesday, March 15, 2023
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports

Joshua Brown: Give Tracy Smith time, 
patience to build program amid early-
season struggles

The start of 
Michigan base-
ball coach Tracy 
Smith’s 
tenure 
has not gone as 
anticipated 
by 
some, 
opening 
to a 6-9 record. 
And he would 
be the first to 
admit it, calling 
its home-opener loss on March 8 
to a 2-8 Oakland team “embar-
rassing.”
But this isn’t really Smith’s 
squad. With multiple players 
transferring away from the pro-
gram, MLB Draft picks and inju-
ries that have thinned the roster, 
he was dealt the equivalent of a 
seven-deuce Texas Holdem hand 
for this season.
“I think it’s been well docu-
mented,” Smith said at Michigan 
Media Day Feb. 9. “A little bit 
of shortness to the roster piece 
that happened there. … We may 
ask you if you’ve not played this 
position, ‘Hey you might do it 
this year,’ or you haven’t pitched 
since high school, ‘Guess what, 
you might have to give us some 
innings this year.’ ”
Utilizing position players like 
third baseman and Mitch Voit 
as pitchers in order to fill a Wol-
verines staff that had a 7.00 ERA 
last year, and has only managed 
a 6.10 ERA so far this season, is 
a microcosm of the strenuous 
climb Smith was faced with upon 
taking the job in Ann Arbor. This 
is despite taking over a program 
that won the Big Ten Champi-
onship last year and was a few 
outs away from the NCAA Super 
Regionals.
Yet with so many challenges, 
Smith hasn’t been afraid to com-
bat them. He just needs time to 
do so. And everyone should give 
him that time.
So how should the 2023 Mich-
igan baseball team be evaluated? 
Smith was hired by Michigan 
on July 3, well after the 2022 
recruiting cycle ended. Follow-
ing former coach Erik Bakich to 
Clemson, shortstop and captain 
Riley Bertram and right-hander 
Willie Weiss transferred to the 
Tigers. Michigan also lost three 
key players to the draft, includ-
ing outfielder Clark Elliott.
This left senior catcher Jimmy 
Obertop, who briefly entered the 
transfer portal before withdraw-
ing, as the intended centerpiece 
of Smith’s lineup card for this 
season. But then he suffered an 
elbow in fall practice, which has 
kept him out of competition so 
far and will likely continue to do 
so until the end of March at the 
earliest. Even when he returns, 
he will only be able to be the des-
ignated hitter given the nature of 
his injury.

To attempt to fill these voids, 
Smith had to scramble late in the 
transfer portal, acquiring gradu-
ate shortstop Cody Jefferis from 
San Diego and junior catcher 
Gabe Sotres from Michigan 
State. But these temporary fixes 
cannot fully compensate for the 
Wolverines’ overarching defi-
ciencies.
Nonetheless, Smith is try-
ing, and that should count for 
something. With such a depleted 
roster, there is only so much a 
first-year coach can do.
The limited pitching depth 
has loomed large, as Smith 
inherited just two returning 
pitchers that threw over 70 
innings last season in junior left-
hander Connor O’Halloran and 
junior right-hander Chase Allen. 
Yet two solid starters cannot last 
any team, let alone Michigan, for 
an entire weekend series.
“When 
you 
got 
Connor 
O’Halloran and Chase Allen on 
the mound that aren’t walking 
guys and pitching in the zone 
and being aggressive, that’s the 
difference,” Smith said after 
Michigan’s 9-4 loss to UCLA. 
“So we’re not giving free bases, 
which we gave a ton of free bases 
the last couple of games. That’s 
the difference.”
To make up the difference, 
among many more, Smith will 
need time to recruit to bring 
in talent that can blossom over 
time within the program. And 
his experience before coming to 
Michigan should help with that.
After 
his 
departure 
from 
Arizona State, where he took 
the Sun Devils to four regional 
appearances, Smith became CEO 
of Diamond Allegiance, an orga-
nization that works to improve 
the travel ball system. Smith can 
utilize those relationships with 
younger athletes to recruit in 
future years. But that takes time.
“I’ve recruited my entire life 
through the travel ball organiza-
tions,” Smith said. “But through 
this company that I was the CEO 
of last year, I was interacting 
daily with all the top leaders and 
top organizations of all the top 
travel ball clubs all around the 
country. So now when I’m back 
in coaching it’s given me unbe-
lievable access and relationships 
that I didn’t have two years ago.”
Building these relationships 
over the past two years can be 
pivotal for Smith at a school like 
Michigan, where luring talent 
to the colder temperatures pro-
vides an additional layer of dif-
ficulty. But the Wolverines have 
already seen flashes of young 
potential in freshman center 
fielder Greg Pace Jr. in addition 
to Voit. With time, these center-
pieces can be building blocks for 
Smith if he can match them with 

high-ceiling recruits in future 
years. 
As Smith molds the pro-
gram in his image, the bones 
of it have already been in place 
through the strong culture he 
inherited despite the many 
positional weak spots the Wol-
verines have. That’s even show-
ing up in their newest faces
“Obviously I’m gonna help 
the team as much as possible, 
whatever that is,” Voit said at 
Michigan Media Day. “At the 
end of the day stats are stats, 
but wins are wins and I’m try-
ing to get as many wins as pos-
sible for this team.”
And that culture has already 
been on display. Smith publicly 
called the team out after strik-
ing out 13 times against Golden 
Grizzlies pitchers, questioning 
“if it bothers us.” Instead of 
wilting, Michigan showed met-
tle in two resilient wins against 
UAB the following weekend. 
In the second game against the 
Blazers, Voit pitched 3.2 score-
less innings and posted two 
RBI, including the game-win-
ning sacrifice fly in the bottom 
of the eighth inning, to earn 
himself his first collegiate win 
as a pitcher.
Keeping the team motivated 
amid a six-game losing streak 
is what coaches are there for, 
and these games showed that 
the Wolverines are still buy-
ing into what the new coaching 
staff is selling. 
If the team stays in lockstep 
with Smith and the coach-
ing staff, Michigan baseball’s 
upside can grow in the future 
as Smith is able to further 
leverage his background in the 
travel ball landscape to pro-
cure prospects on the recruit-
ing trail.
Successful 
talent 
devel-
opment and a unified team 
culture translate to winning 
baseball. But the talent for the 
Wolverines isn’t there yet, so 
don’t expect a repeat of last 
year’s Big Ten Championship 
run. Rather, evaluate this sea-
son on if Michigan continues 
to fight hard throughout the 
season and show flashes of 
youthful upside if their roster 
deficiencies further compound 
and put them out of Big Ten 
contention. For Smith to stay 
on schedule in building back up 
the program, the Wolverines 
have to stick together.
The Michigan baseball pro-
gram, which was a game away 
from a national championship 
less than four years ago, has 
the puzzle pieces spilled out on 
the table to eventually become 
an annual Big Ten Champion-
ship and NCAA Tournament 
contender once again.

BASEBALL

GRACE LAHTI/Daily

‘Sometimes God’s greatest gift is 
unanswered prayers’: Inside Tracy 
Smith’s journey to Michigan

COLE MARTIN
Daily Sports Writer

After an illustrious coaching 
career, Tracy Smith has finally 
made his way to the Michigan 
baseball team.
But for Smith, a career in base-
ball almost never happened.
“I fancied myself a basketball 
guy first,” Smith told The Daily. 
“Basketball was my first love, 
(but) I happened to be a little 
bit better at baseball. I couldn’t 
shoot.”
Smith was so serious about bas-
ketball that he considered playing 
at St. Joe’s, an NCAA Division II 
program. In the end, his baseball 
ties from Kentland, Ind. pointed 
him in a different direction and 
Smith committed to Miami Uni-
versity of Ohio.
Due to the intense baseball 
culture in Kentland — a town 
that produced three MLB players 
throughout Smith’s childhood — 
Smith was able to develop his tal-
ents in that environment.
“I was very fortunate,” Smith 
said. “There (were) three little 
dinky towns that fed into the 
high school, and within that area, 
we played legion baseball. The 
coaching back then was really 
good. There was a gentleman 
named Tater Blankenship. … He 
was my little league coach all the 
way through.”
Working 
with 
Blankenship 
proved 
beneficial 
for 
Smith. 
Blankenship’s demanding style of 
coaching enabled him to develop 
the fundamentals of the game in 
his early teen years. And as Smith 
continued to grow up, it became 
clear that he was more than just 
a gifted little league baseball 
player.
Smith took the next step of his 
baseball career at South New-
ton High School, where he was 
coached by Denny Stitz. Accord-
ing to Stitz, it was clear that 
Smith was athletically gifted — 
and not just at baseball.
“When he got into high school, 
he was (part of) a very talented 
group of kids,” Stitz told The 
Daily. “He was recognized in the 
region as being one of the best 
athletes because he could do a lot. 
… But in baseball, he excelled. He 
had tools (and) was probably the 
best pure baseball athlete I had 
while I was at South Newton.”
In high school, Smith played 
all four years at the varsity level, 
winning three sectional champi-
onships in the process. Stitz cred-
its Smith’s success as much to his 
skill as to his work ethic.
At South Newton, Stitz also 
coached Smith on the basketball 
team, and he preferred a roster 
that was well-conditioned. So 
Stitz and Smith’s father told him 
that if he wanted to play bas-
ketball, he’d have to run for the 
school’s cross-country team addi-
tionally. And that’s exactly what 
Smith did, becoming one of the 
best runners on the team in the 
process.
“When he put his mind to 
something, the athletic talent was 
there,” Stitz said. “As far as his 
mind would take you, that’s how 
far he could go.”
After high school, Smith’s 
strong mindset moved on to 
Miami — but not because of base-
ball.

Smith was so unsure of his 
future aspirations that he didn’t 
sign with the RedHawks pro-
gram until after his senior year of 
high school. Again, baseball was 
something he was good at, but he 
didn’t see it in his future.
Instead, Smith aimed to work 
in the classroom and earned a 
teaching degree at Miami. Smith 
prioritized having fun while 
playing baseball, combining his 
work ethic with his upbeat per-
sonality. 
“(Playing baseball) was going 
to pay for a little bit of the edu-
cation,” Smith said. “… I had no 
plans or aspirations at that time 
of being a coach.”
For the RedHawks, Smith 
played a morale-boosting role 
while being one of their best all-
around athletes, making comical 
home videos in which he used 
dummies to enact himself falling 
off of the stadium’s walls.
“Tracy was a bit of a livewire,” 
Smith’s college teammate Tim 
Naehring told The Daily. “(But) 
he was probably the best pure 
athlete on our entire team.”
With his pure athleticism also 
came a competitive fire. Smith 
played all over the field for the 
betterment of his team. He also 
had the unique ability to take a 
step back from his own individual 
play, examining what changes he 
could make to facilitate Miami’s 
success. That skill is one of many 
that has translated to his mana-
gerial career more than 30 years 
later.
“I remember Tracy telling me 
right from the beginning, ‘Hey, 
all the stories from college, these 
guys are hearing none of that 
today,’ ” Naehring said. “… Tracy 
did have a side of him where 
he had a lot of fun and probably 
learned his coaching style from 
what he knows he was capable of 
as a college athlete.”
But despite his success at the 
collegiate level, he never thought 
baseball could be a career.
That all changed when he was 
drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 
the 1987 and 1988 MLB Draft. 
Baseball now looked like it could 
be a legitimate career option, and 
after college, Smith reported to 
spring training with the Cubs.
But it came with a cost. While 
playing 
for 
Chicago, 
Smith 
missed the birth of his first child.
He realized that his familial 
obligations outweighed his love 
for baseball, so Smith retired in 
1990. Baseball was once again on 
the back burner.
“I hung it up to go raise a fam-
ily,” Smith said. “(I wanted to) go 
get a master’s degree. And that 
kind of started the … coaching 
path.”
After hanging up his cleats, 
Smith interviewed to be an 
administrator at Miami Universi-
ty Middletown, but got a rejection 
letter. However, that ‘no’ turned 
out to be his greatest blessing.
“I was devastated,” Smith said. 
“But I say it’s like that Garth 
Brooks song, sometimes God’s 
greatest 
gift 
is 
unanswered 
prayers. And so I started coach-
ing.”
Coaching was a job that Smith 
immediately excelled at. After 
starting his career at Miami 
University 
Middletown, 
the 
same school that rejected him 
in an administrative role, Smith 

became head coach of Miami 
five years later. Eventually, he 
made his way to Indiana, where 
he got a taste of Big Ten action, 
winning the conference tourna-
ment in 2008. In the 2013 sea-
son, Smith won the NCBWA 
National Coach of the Year 
award, once again leading the 
Hoosiers to a Big Ten champi-
onship and advancing the pro-
gram to its first College World 
Series in its history.
Smith eventually left Indi-
ana, coaching at Arizona State 
for seven seasons and lead-
ing the Sun Devils to a 201-155 
record before being fired.
And 
after 
Arizona 
State 
in 2021, Smith was unsure if 
he’d return to coaching. Then, 
Michigan called.
And Ann Arbor wasn’t new 
to him.
While at Miami, Smith had 
his first run-in with Michigan, 
playing the Wolverines numer-
ous times in his four-year col-
lege career. Smith competed 
against 
numerous 
Michigan 
legends and coaches, such as 
Jim Abbott and Bud Middaugh.
When he arrived in Ann 
Arbor, seeing those names gave 
him a sense of comfort in the 
unfamiliar environment of Ray 
Fisher Stadium.
“I don’t want to say it’s sur-
real, but it’s kind of neat,” Smith 
said. “To be connected to this 
place as someone who’s played a 
lot of names I see on the walls. … 
That’s kind of fun.”
Now, he takes over the reigns 
as the program’s head coach, 
leading the team in front of 
those walls everyday.
“When I was at (Arizona 
State) and my sabbatical was 
forced upon me, I swore I 
would never come back (to the 
Midwest),” Smith said with a 
chuckle. “… Everybody was like 
‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ 
(and) I said, ‘Well, it’s Michi-
gan.’ ”
And because of the Wolver-
ine program he played against 
in his collegiate career, Smith 
has always had a soft spot for 
Michigan, even going as far 
as to call himself a ‘Michigan 
man.’ 
“Culture and whatever (for-
mer coach Erik Bakich’s) staff 
did, and just the department 
in general, has been fantastic,” 
Smith said. “Now we’re gonna 
put our own touches on this 
thing in terms of recruiting … 
but zero complaints in terms 
of just the quality of human 
beings, the things that we’ve 
walked into and the focusing on 
baseball.”
While his personal touch-
es remains to be seen, Smith 
knows he’s the man for the 
role in righting the ship for the 
Wolverines after a tumultuous 
offseason. His coaching experi-
ence and work ethic show that 
he possesses all the tools for 
success. And after living a life 
making the most of unanswered 
prayers, Smith could excel in 
inheriting a roster full of ques-
tion marks.
Whether the Wolverines can 
replicate his vision is unknown, 
but after a life of unpredictabil-
ity, Michigan making a resur-
gence under Smith would be 
just another egg in his basket.

BASEBALL

RILEY NIEBOER/Daily

JOSHUA

BROWN

