Indiana's Tracy Smith to AZ State and Ole' Miss Cliff Godwin to East Carolina. I can see Smith to ASU....I live in Ohio and Indiana's (heck, the entire Midwest) weather just isn't conducive to baseball. Don't quite get the Godwin move....though he was an ECU grad and may have friends/family there. Seems like a pretty big step down...but I guess everything has a reason
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As a Husker grad and fan I think that is a big blow to Big 10 baseball but time will tell I guess.
Why are you confused about Cliff Goodwin? He was an assistant coach at Ole Miss. Seems like a logical move to me.
Home run hire by ASU I think.
Why are you confused about Cliff Goodwin? He was an assistant coach at Ole Miss. Seems like a logical move to me.
Home run hire by ASU I think.
Uh....good point....not sure why I was thinking he was the HC. Don't hear much about Ole' Miss up here in "the North"....lol. Makes perfect sense now 
Something worth noting…Big10 combined assistant coaching salaries last year.
How did I miss that? I had heard a lot of rumbling about Esmay from alumni. I hope Tracey Smith is a great recruiter.
Smith and Indiana had shown some interest in mine and I would say he is a good recruiter from what little exposure we had to him and the program. I'm sure he will be a success at ASU. It brings another point to mind though, that is how difficult it is to get to a place with coaching stability. I think Indiana is a good example. It's fair to say Indiana has not traditionally been a school kids grow up lusting to play for (like Stanford, Clemson, LSU, Florida State, Texas, etc). Smith has certainly been successful at IU and I'm sure that was partly due to the relationships formed with reruits. Let's say your kid is entering school this fall, it really sucks for them that the reason many of them were attending is now gone.
Coaching stability has certainly been something we have considered through my son's process, though sometimes even the ones you think are stable turn out not to be.
I can't blame Coach Smith....anyone who experienced this spring here in the Midwest will tell you that it just wasn't decent for baseball (few springs are). Can't imagine trying to prepare a team for a season when you're practicing either inside...or outside in 35 degree weather. I would think that as much as he's had success at IU that the weather issue had to be a huge factor in his decision
More good players in Arizona and California…thats the reason more than any other. He can win it all there. It woulda been tougher to do it at IU.
Do not let a coach be "the reason" for your son attending a school. Factor? Ok, but not a reason. That is fraught with peril. While our 2 son's college head coaches remained stable, the staffs at both schools turned over a lot during their time in college.
It's was predictable Smith would move on. His resume is the classic coach on the rise. Build up a mid major from nothing (Miami OH), build a major conference team from nothing, move on the the dream school. With Indiana's last two seasons the time was right. Smith would never be a hotter commodity.
With the problems ASU has had with coaches if Smith becomes stability, the team wins a few Pac12 titles and a national championship he becomes a god in Arizona. In Indiana if the baseball team could win a national championship they would still be second fiddle to annual hopes and dreams for the basketball program.
Smith is also in a far better recruiting place. In the midwest he was competing against the ACC and SEC for the premier talent wanting to leave for better weather. Now he's in a major conference in the better weather.
It's was predictable Smith would move on. His resume is the classic coach on the rise. Build up a mid major from nothing (Miami OH), build a major conference team from nothing, move on the the dream school. With Indiana's last two seasons the time was right. Smith would never be a hotter commodity.
With the problems ASU has had with coaches if Smith becomes stability, the team wins a few Pac12 titles and a national championship he becomes a god in Arizona. In Indiana if the baseball team could win a national championship they would still be second fiddle to annual hopes and dreams for the basketball program.
Smith is also in a far better recruiting place. In the midwest he was competing against the ACC and SEC for the premier talent wanting to leave for better weather. Now he's in a major conference in the better weather.
While a lot is true, I am disappointed. It is hard to see good coaches leave. Could have had something nice for a long while. While IU is a "Basketball School," it is a great place with Midwest values and loyalty. A great place to raise your family, etc., etc. Arizona is too freaking hot -- been there, done that.
Indiana's Tracy Smith to AZ State and Ole' Miss Cliff Godwin to East Carolina. I can see Smith to ASU....I live in Ohio and Indiana's (heck, the entire Midwest) weather just isn't conducive to baseball. Don't quite get the Godwin move....though he was an ECU grad and may have friends/family there. Seems like a pretty big step down...but I guess everything has a reason
He's from Eastern NC. He is an ECU alum. It's not that hard.
For those with upcoming HS players looking to play in college, I would strongly recommend finding and listening to the media interview last Sunday with Coaches Corbin and O'Connor. Asked how they were so successful in a short period of time, the response was the prior coaches left them talent, they each had incredible new facilities, but most of all each was provided significant additional resources and support for baseball which their predecessors never had
If Indiana upgrades the commitment to baseball, which they have every reason to do so, the combination of their facility, great university and additional funding, resources and support should find them a very good coach to succeed Coach Smith.
More good players in Arizona and California…thats the reason more than any other. He can win it all there. It woulda been tougher to do it at IU.
Absolutely ! In fact, Tracy Smith has been recruiting San Diego County regularly over the past 4-5 years.Some of the best players in his IU program are/were from San Diego
A good friend of mine has a son that will be attending Indiana as a freshman next Fall. I haven't spoken to him yet, but I know that he and his son have to be extremely disappointed that Tracy Smith has left for ASU.
Maybe the new coach will teach his son the game.
Bob
Wasn't ECU's former coach named Godwin? Any relation?
Wasn't ECU's former coach named Godwin? Any relation?
