John SmithTitle: Head Coach Experience: 32nd Season Email:jsmith@csus.edu Bio: One of the West Coast’s longest tenured coaches, Sacramento State graduate John Smith continues his quest to build Hornet baseball into a major Division I power entering his 31st year.
The Hornets are coming off of a 2008 campaign where they made the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament for the third straight season, and produced five all-conference performers. Additionally, seniors Ryan Blair (21st round) and David Flores (18th round), along with junior Gabe Jacobo (10th round), were seclected in the MLB Draft.
The WAC, a seven-team conference, is comprised of Fresno State, Hawai’i, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, San Jose State and New Mexico State. The conference will hold a six-team postseason tournament from May 21-24, hosted by Hawai’i, to determine the conference champion and the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
To begin 2009, Tim Wheeler, a 2008 first team all-WAC selection, was named to the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List.
The WAC is not new to the Hornets, who played in the conference from 1993-96. The team was also an affiliate member of the Big West from 1997-2002.
In recent years, Smith has tallied victories over opponents ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Just last season alone, the Hornets took down then No. 12 California, 12-6, on March 18 and No. 17 Stanford, 5-3, on March 25. Sacramento State also posted a pair of victories over eventual College World Series champion Fresno State to end the regular season.
Prior to their latest stint in the WAC, from 2003-05, the Hornets competed without a conference affiliation, but had nine different players earn all-Independent Team honors during that three-year span. Seven of those players were eventually drafted.
Sacramento State currently plays in newly renovated Hornet Field, which in 2003, was equipped with new dugouts and permanent seating for over 1,200, including chairback seats. A 2008 addition was a large banner over the left field wall that features action photos of current and former players, with the phrase “Home of Hornet Baseball” enscribed.
Under Smith, Sacramento State battled for a spot in the NCAA Tournament down to the final weeks of the 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1998 seasons.
The Hornets, who narrowly missed out to Cal State Northridge on the final weekend of the 1991 season, were also a factor in the Western Athletic Conference race in the latter stages of the 1992 and ’93 seasons. In 1998, Sacramento State again nearly found a spot in the postseason, losing to Long Beach State in the championship game of the Big West Tournament.
Since taking over the program in November of 1978, Smith has produced 16 winning seasons, including 11 years with at least 30 wins and four years with at least 40 wins. In his 30 seasons as a head coach, he has posted 834 victories. The 834 wins are the most wins by a head coach in Sacramento State athletics history.
A strong recruiter, baseball tactician and program administrator, Smith took the 1988 Hornets to the finals of the NCAA Division II World Series. He has led the Hornets to NCAA postseason appearances four times during his tenure, winning two regional crowns and two trips to the NCAA Div. II Championships.
Smith was named the American Baseball Coaches Association/NCAA Western Regional Coach of the Year twice, in 1986 and in 1988.
The Hornets are coming off several successful seasons in the MLB Amateur draft, including the three player class in 2008. In 2007, pitcher Mitch Lively was selected in the 16th round of the draft by the Colorado Rockies, following an eight save campaign.
Prior to that, Hornet pitchers Ethan Katz and Warren Rosebrock were selected in the 2005 draft. Katz, who was the Hornets’ No. 1 starter in 2004 and 2005, was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 26th round. Rosebrock, who played for the Hornets from 2002-05, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 41st round.
Three Hornets from the 2004 season were also selected; Jack Arroyo was drafted in the 18th round by the Seattle Mariners, Craig Johnson was selected in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres and John Acha was selected in the 25th round by the San Francisco Giants.
The 2003 season proved to be the program’s best representation in the draft as three Hornets were selected in the top 15 rounds. Chris Kinsey joined Erik Bennett as the highest draft selection in program history after being taken in the fourth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jesse Schmidt was selected in the 10th round by the San Francisco Giants and Mikela Olsen went in the 15th round to the Florida Marlins. The trio became the highest selections in one year and were the most players picked in one season since 1993. Prior to the draft, Steve Correa signed a free-agent contract with the New York Mets.
Several other Smith-coached players have recently gone on to play professional baseball. Bret LeVier signed as a rookie free agent with Boston Red Sox in June 2004 and Casey Fuller signed with the Colorado Rockies in June of 2003. Jeff Groeger inked with the Cincinnati Reds in August of 2002. Chad Elliott and Casey Martinez were drafted in the 2000 Amateur Draft, and Jesse Krebs and Jimmy McFarland each signed free agent contracts that same year.
Along with coaching, Smith served as a Division II West Regional Chairman for the All-American selection from 1986-88. As a chairman, he was responsible for gathering information on potential student-athletes and was active in the final selections to the All-America team.
Among his other honors, Smith was selected to coach a team of collegiate all-stars that toured Czechoslovakia on a 10-week goodwill tour in the summer of 1992.
Smith took over the Sacramento State program in the winter of 1978. After the Hornets produced a 19-31 record in his first season, the team posted winning records in 14-consecutive seasons and won a league title. During that stretch, Sacramento State averaged 34.5 victories per year, including a program best 43 wins during the 1988 season.
In Smith’s early years, the Hornets finished second once and third twice in the Far West Conference. Sacramento State was also second in the Northern California Athletic Conference and won the NCAC title in 1985.
Sacramento State won the NCAA Regionals in 1986 and 1988, advancing to the College World Series both years. In 1986, the Hornets finished third at the College World Series, and in 1988, Sacramento State lost to Florida Southern, 5-4, in 12 innings, in the final game to finish as the national runner-up.
Besides his NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year honors, Smith has been named Sacramento State Coach of the Year twice, in 1981 and 1986, and Sacramento Hall of Fame Coach of the Year four times.
A native of Redding, Calif., Smith spent three years in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Green Beret after junior college (College of the Siskiyous). He spent the 1970 season as an assistant at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, Calif., followed by two years playing for Cal Boyes at Sacramento State in 1971 and 1972. He served as a graduate assistant for Boyes’ 1973 team and graduated from Sacramento State that spring.
He spent the next five years as head baseball coach at Encina High School, where he led EHS to a Central Valley Conference title.
Smith also took the role of Associate Athletics Director at Sacramento State from February of 1999 until June of 2002. In his position, he was responsible for overseeing the football program while assisting with scheduling and the day-to-day operations of the athletics department.
John and his wife, Terry, who is the principal at O.W. Erlewine Elementary School, have two children, Heather (24) and Bobby (21). Heather graduated in the spring of 2007 from Sacramento State and currently works for the Sacramento Kings, while Bobby graduated from the College of the Siskiyous Fire Academy and works as a firefighter for the U.S. Forestry Service.
John Smith
