OMAHA. Neb. (NCBWA) – Indiana head coach Tracy
Smith collected some individual hardware in Omaha before
his Hoosiers play their first College World Series game in program
history on Saturday night against Louisville. Smith was named the
sixth recipient of the 2013 National College Baseball Writers
Association Coach of the Year on Saturday morning in a
vote by the NCBWA board of directors.
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Smith |
The Hoosiers' eighth-year head coach guided his squad to an historic
season in 2013 as Indiana enters the CWS having reeled off a program-record
48 wins, including a 17-7 mark in Big Ten play, which gave the Hoosiers
their first outright conference title since 1949.
Smith, who was named the unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year
prior to the conference tournament, saw nine of his Hoosiers named
to the All-Big Ten team, including Pitcher of the Year Aaron Slegers.
After the record-breaking regular season, Smith and his IU squad
then secured its second NCAA regional berth (2009) during his tenure
by winning the Big Ten tournament title at Target Field in Minneapolis.
The 4-3 victory over Nebraska in the title game allowed the Hoosiers
to host the Bloomington Regional on their home field and IU's three
straight triumphs set up a NCAA Super Regional against No. 7 national-seed
Florida State in Tallahassee. The Super Regional berth was another
first for the Hoosier program and the men from IU made quick work
of the Seminoles, scoring double-digit runs in a two-game sweep
of FSU that clinched the program's first berth in the CWS.
Smith's post at IU is his second head coaching job at the collegiate
level. He turned around the program at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio),
before returning to Bloomington as the head coach in 2006. He spent
the 1995-96 seasons as IU's pitching coach before winning 317 games
at Miami and leading the RedHawks to the 2000 and 2005 NCAA Tournament.
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Related link: •
NCBWA Coach of the Year
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