Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director Ray Anderson, following a Monday morning meeting, announced today a change in leadership for Sun Devil Baseball:

"After speaking with Tracy Smith this afternoon, we have decided by mutual agreement that Coach Smith will not return as the head coach for Sun Devil Baseball next season,” Anderson said. “Decisions like this are never easy to make, but I want to thank Tracy for his efforts over the last seven years. We are committed to returning Sun Devil baseball back to one of the country's elite programs and will look for a leader who can help us compete for Pac-12 titles, consistently host postseason competitions and return us to the College World Series. We will begin a search for a new head coach immediately and will be deliberate in securing a leader that is the best fit for the program and our university."

Tracy Smith, who served as ASU’s head baseball coach for the last seven years, leaves Tempe with 201-155 overall record, 87-92 Pac-12 mark. Smith's teams never hosted a postseason regional, nor did they advance to a super regional. The Sun Devils were ranked as high as no. 21 this season and, towards the end of the season, strung five consecutive wins. Their last regular-season series at home versus UCLA was a sweep at the hand of the Bruins, and in the postseason, they went 1-2 in the Austin Regional, losing to both Texas and Fairfield.

Smith’s successor will have many returning players, mostly underclassmen leading ASU in 2022 led by Collegiate Baseball News second-team All-American designated hitter Ethan Long, and three of its most talented pitchers, all slated starters, who missed most of last season due to injuries, junior Boyd Vander Kooi, sophomore Erik Tolman, and Cooper Benson.