Newsstand: Detroit Tigers' Chris Fetter endorses new Michigan baseball hire
Michigan made official the hiring of head baseball coach Tracy Smith on Sunday afternoon. The program finally has the successor to Erik Bakich and now has an official endorsement from one of Bakich’s own.
Former Michigan and current Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter – who some considered the favorite for the job – weighed in on his alma mater’s new hire. He is pleased to welcome the former Indiana and Arizona State manager to Ann Arbor.
“Coach [Tracy Smith’s] teams were always tough to compete against when he was at IU,” Fetter tweeted on Sunday. “He has great midwestern ties for recruiting and will bring a B1G championship pedigree to the program. We are excited to see the direction of [Michigan baseball] under his watch!”
Smith, 56, has plenty of Big Ten experience, coaching at Indiana as an assistant in 1995-96 and later holding the main job from 2006-14. The hope is that it will carry over to Michigan.
He last coached at Arizona State from 2015-21. Smith began his head coaching career at Miami and went 317-220-1 from 1997-2005, advancing to a pair of NCAA Regionals. Rogers went 287-237 in nine seasons on the job at Indiana with three NCAA Regional berths and a trip to the College World Series in 2013.
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Smith’s time at Arizona State saw him go 201-155 in seven seasons in Tempe. Arizona State played in four NCAA Regionals on his watch before he was fired at the end of the 2021 campaign.
Smith’s hiring will give Michigan an experienced voice with Midwest ties and a track record of success. Other candidates for the job included Fetter, Central Michigan head coach Jordan Bischel, San Diego Padres hitting coach Michael Brdar and more.
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Michigan quote of the day
“My family and I are proud to join the University of Michigan family, and this storied Michigan baseball program. Having competed on the field against the likes of Barry Larkin, Jim Abbott, Casey Close and many others, I am aware of the tremendous talent and tradition of this program. I would like to thank Warde Manuel, Rob Rademacher, the staff and our student-athletes for allowing me the opportunity to build upon the history of U-M baseball and the recent successes of my friend and colleague Erik Bakich. The standards in the Big Ten Conference and at the University of Michigan are set high, and I am honored to lead our next group of champions. Go Blue!”
– New Michigan baseball coach Tracy Smith in introductory press release
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