Former ASU baseball coach returns to Valley
Former Arizona State baseball coach Tracy Smith says he’s looking forward mostly to seeing his “grandbaby” Maverick in his return to the Valley this weekend when he leads Michigan in the MLB Desert Invitational.
Michigan is among seven colleges, including Arizona and Grand Canyon, opening their season this weekend at various ballparks that Major League Baseball is hosting in the greater Phoenix area for the fourth time.
Smith, in his return to the Big Ten (he led Indiana to the College World Series in 2013), was hired in July to take over the Michigan program after taking last season off. He was dismissed as head coach at ASU, after leading the program from 2015-21 and leading the Sun Devils to a 201-155 record.
He is recharged and looking forward to reuniting with family, friends and baseball in the Valley.
“After my sabbatical, I was residing in Arizona last year,” Smith said in a Zoom media conference call Wednesday morning with participating coaches. “I frequent back there. But coming back on the competitive side, I’m the coach at the University of Michigan now. We’re ready to rock and roll. It’s been fun. It’s great to get back to the Big Ten, the alignment there.
“Seven or eight years in the desert, I had a lot of friendships, a lot of relationships. I’m looking forward to seeing people who have already reached out. I just think it will be good to get back on the field. My whole family, my kids, still live out there. I’m no stranger.”
GCU, under new coach Gregg Wallis and led by preseason All-American shortstop Jacob Wilson, will be featured on the MLB Network twice — on Friday at 1 p.m., against UC San Diego at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, and Saturday at 6 p.m, at home against Tennessee, last year’s SEC regular season and tournament champion.
Before his promotion to head coach, Wallis was an assistant and lead recruiter at GCU under Andy Stankiewicz (now the head coach at USC). He said an overcapacity crowd is expected on Saturday night when his Antelopes take on the Volunteers.
“The excitement is building around campus for it,” Wallis said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our school, our facilities and our team to a national audience.”
Arizona, under alum and secondyear head coach Chip Hale, will be featured on the MLB Network on Friday at 6 p.m., against Tennessee at Salt River.
“I think it’s huge,” said Hale, who realizes how many Arizona alumni reside in the greater Phoenix area. “The alumni, the donors. We got a ton of guys obviously in spring training. It will be fun to see those guys. And playing in those ballparks with the new (much bigger) bases, they’ll get to see what it’s like at the next level.
“I’m glad we get to do a tournament. I’m glad it’s sponsored by MLB, because everybody we recruit we feel this is what they should shoot for. You hope the talent that you bring into the University of Arizona should be able to go on and play.”
Seven players, two from both Arizona and GCU, are ranked among the MLB Pipeline Top 100 draft prospects playing in this showcase.
They are Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander (No. 2 ranking), GCU shortstop Jacob Wilson (9), Tennessee shortstop Maui Ahuna (22), Michigan State shortstop Mitch Jebb (44), Arizona outfielder Chase Davis (51), Arizona RHP T.J. Nichols (71) and GCU outfielder Homer Bush (88).
Smith’s team opens Friday at 11 a.m. against Fresno State and Sloan Park in Mesa. Michigan and Michigan State will play each other at the same park same day at 4 p.m.
GCU will play Michigan on Sunday at Sloan at 5 p.m., then finishes the showcase at home on Monday at 11 a.m., against Michigan State.