In new Ohio coach Rob Smith’s introductory press conference Tuesday, he hit heavily on wanting to establish a culture at Ohio University.
Athens is a very cultured place, and Smith will fit right in with other enthusiastic Bobcat leaders.
“I’m excited to establish the culture we’ll like to have here for Ohio baseball,” Smith said. “As any new coach, you obviously have to create an environment that’s going to cultivate your athletes, is going to allow them to grow, is going to bring them along and give them an opportunity to be successful.”
Before the Bobcats establish a new mindset under the former Creighton associate coach’s leadership, they will have to relinquish the one left behind by a string of Bobcat coaches with ties to the program, which dates back almost a century.
Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus picked Smith for the position after a “national search.” The Post’s public records requests in regards to the other candidates for who applied for the position has not been returned, but Ohio associate coach Andrew See was among those vying for the job.
Tradition aside, Smith is more than qualified for the position. He helped the Bluejay program to a .615 winning percentage in his six years there, appearing in the NCAA Tournament three times.
Prior to his work with Creighton, Smith was Purdue's pitching coach. In his six years in West Lafayette, he helped the Boilermakers to two 30-win seasons and four Big 10 Tournament appearances.
Smith also served as the Bluejays’ pitching coach. It remains to be seen if See, who is also the Bobcats’ pitching coach, will return to the program.
“He has had a dynamic impact at every stop during his 16-year coaching career,” Schaus said. “He has a renowned reputation in building a successful pitching staff, which has consistently led their conference and has regularly ranked in the top 20 in ERA nationally.”
He coached five All-Americans, two freshman All-Americans, one Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and two TVC Newcomer of the Year award winners while with Creighton.
Five of his Bluejay pitchers signed professional contracts.
He will look to shore up Ohio’s staff, which lost two of its top starters to graduation —Jason Moulton and Brent Choban — and its third, junior Seth Streich, to the Oakland Athletics organization.
Ty Blach, a former pitcher under Smith’s tutelage, and the San Francisco Giants' 2012 fifth-round draft choice, has nothing but good things to say about his former coach.
"Coach Smith was great to work with everyday,” he said. “The way he interacted with the players was very professional. He is a real players coach and he pushed us to levels we didn't know we could get to."
