In a maroon shirt and shorts, Tracy Smith strutted through the dugout and past the hoard of media members gathered in the dirt. He wore headphones under a gardening hat, which was equipped with a neck flap that covered the back of his head.

He shuffled through his phone, presumably queuing up his playlist, and ventured into the stands of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Starting behind the dugout, the sixth-year head coach began jogging up and down the stairs of ASU’s ballpark.

While his roster posted up in front of cameras for their media day obligations, Smith worked out, making his way around the ballpark by scaling seemingly every step on the premises. In the meantime, no one seemed to notice.

For the state of Arizona State’s baseball program, that sentiment feels refreshing. Friday’s Media Day flowed. Every word felt genuine -- not to say they weren’t in the past, but struggles seemed to mar every sentiment.

There was no cloud hovering over the program Friday afternoon. No one would say that Smith has immunity, but the calls for his job have tamed since the Sun Devils drew a No. 3 preseason ranking. ASU is a popular pick to make the College World Series -- and because of their talent rather than their history.

In turn, Smith seemed calm. He could go trek up some staircases without the entire park glaring at him, waiting for when he would hop in front of the cameras and answer the ever-so-pressing questions about his program. Because, at the moment, there aren’t a whole lot.

Its offense will likely only start one freshman -- center fielder Sean McLain -- and its infield is littered with four juniors, three of whom -- Spencer Torkelson, Alika Williams, and gage Workman -- may be first-round picks in a few months.

The most glaring worries about Smith’s program revolves around pitching. You know, the staff that blew lead after lead last year, and incited both panic and frustration within the locker room and the fan base.

Whether it was blowing a five-run lead in the ninth to UNLV or allowing seven runs in the final two innings against Southern Mississippi to end its season, ASU’s arms assured that no lead was safe.

But, again, there were others to answer to that Friday. Following its regional loss to Southern Miss., Smith let go pitching coach Mike Cather after two seasons and hired Washington pitching Jason Kelly -- D1 Baseball’s 2018 assistant coach of the year -- to the same role in Tempe.

“In that situation, if you have where you’re performing here,” Smith said, placing his hand at his hip, “and someone hits the market of the caliber of a Jason Kelly, you know, we’re always trying to improve.

“We did exit interviews in the fall and one of the things that stuck out to me that a lot of the pitchers would preface their comments like, ‘I want to make sure coach Kelly this … or coach Kelly told me this.’ I could already tell there was a bond and connection there that they want to please him.”

Arizona State’s pitchers backed up Smith’s comments about their new coach.

Junior Boyd Vander Kooi said Kelly is the guy ASU “definitely needed to up our game.” Saint Mary’s transfer Tyler Thornton raved about Kelly because “he’s here as a friend as well as a coach.” Junior RJ Dabovich described him as “an animal, a cool dude.”

Junior college transfer Justin Fall sees a lot of Kelly in himself, making a point that the pair are both lefties and are “very laid back but can also be aggressive at times.” Sophomore lefty Eric Tolman admitted that Kelly is blunt with the pitching staff, but “he puts a little bit of humor in there so it makes us calm down, focus more and get back at it.”

Kelly has jumped around college baseball before (He was at Chico State and Cal Poly prior to Washington). There are a few different ways to handle the move, he admitted. The philosophy coaches too frequently fall into is roaring into their new clubhouse guns blazing, spewing an intense my-way-or-the-highway mantra.

Or you can build real relationships, he noted. Get to know them. How each prefers to communicate; what ticks them off; what fires them up; when to pump them up and when to get on them.

“It’s just like the classroom situation for a teacher. Not everyone is going to learn the same,” he said. “You have to learn to affect people in a way that helps them better but also makes them confident in the fact that when they show up, they want to learn.”

So far, it seems they have. Every pitcher that spoke Friday raved about seemingly a half dozen ways Kelly has transformed what they do on the mound. He’s spent time and energy to develop connections and trust, of course. But he’s also one hell of a pitching coach.

It was brought up on numerous occasions that Kelly had a knack for delivering a message that gets through. That’s no small feat. Because of how he says things and in the way he phrases his instruction, his pitching staff has been able to better develop their secondary pitches, refine their command and create a plan.

“JK has been one of the most influential people, just in five months, on my baseball career already,” Fall said. “He’s way more knowledgeable than anyone I’ve been surrounded with. I’ve been surrounded by great guys but he knows the ins and outs and things I’ve never heard of.”

Added associate head coach Ben Greenspan on Kelly: “What JK has done is develop relationships in a really short time that he can hold them accountable and they don’t take it personal. They know he has their best interest at heart … He’s a difference-maker for our club.”

Said Smith: “It’s a talent to where you can come down on guys at the right time but not turn them off … That’s an ‘It’ factor.”

For Greenspan and Smith’s part, they’ve surrounded Kelly with talent in Tempe. Vander Kooi, Tolman and Dabovich had hiccups last season but, for the most part, were reliable pieces that rarely induced worry.

Then ASU brought in Thornton -- a Saint Mary’s transfer who was Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman of the Year in 2019 -- and Fall -- an imposing 6-foot-6 lefty who Baseball America’s 122nd-ranked prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft. The newcomer duo will likely anchor the Sun Devils’ rotation.

Here’s a look at how we project the rest of ASU’s rotation and bullpen to shake out:

PROJECTED PITCHING STAFF:

Starters:

Fri. — Justin Fall (Jr. // LHP)

Sat. — Tyler Thornton (So. // RHP)

Sun. — Boyd Vander Kooi (Jr. // RHP)

Main bullpen pieces:

Erik Tolman (So. // LHP)

Cam Dennie (Fr. // RHP)

Cooper Benson (Fr. // LHP)

Will Levine (So. // RHP)

Marc Lidd (So. // RHP)

Brady Corrigan (Jr. // RHP)

Blake Burzell (So. // RHP)

Closer:

RJ Dabovich (Jr. // RHP)