Story courtesy of Ohio University Sports Information
ATHENS, Ohio – Rob Smith announced his decision to retire from coaching on Thursday after serving as the Ohio baseball head coach for the last eight seasons.
"It's been an incredible time here at Ohio," Smith said. "I have appreciated my time with the players and coaches that have been a part of this program. It's something I will keep with me forever. I want to thank Julie (Cromer) during this process as I navigated this decision. I want to thank everybody at Ohio that help us progress forward and those that supported us within the athletic department. I have been very fortunate to have great assistant coaches, and as I have chosen to depart I know the program is in great hands with the current staff. They have been a huge part of what we do."
Smith finishes his career at Ohio with two Mid-American Conference Tournament titles and two NCAA Championship appearances. Ohio had made the NCAA Tournament just twice since 1972 before Smith arrived at OU.
"Rob Smith provided outstanding leadership for the Ohio baseball program throughout his tenure," athletic director Julie Cromer said. "He raised the bar for Ohio baseball and led us through many great moments, including two MAC titles. He will be remembered not only for his work on the field, but also for his positive influence on the lives of our student-athletes. We are incredibly grateful for his contributions to Ohio University and we wish him well in his future endeavors."
Associate head coach Craig Moore will assume interim head coaching duties for the rest of the season. Moore will enter his ninth season at Ohio and served on Smith's staff for his entire tenure at OU.
Moore spent two years as an assistant coach with Creighton before arriving to Ohio, specializing with outfielders and catchers. During his time at Creighton, the Bluejays won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference titles. Moore has previous head coaching experience, as he served as the Western Texas College head coach for four seasons before arriving at Creighton. Moore graduated from Nebraska, where he was a four-year letter winner and Academic All-Conference performer on the baseball team.
Smith coached three MAC Player of the Year winners, one MAC Pitcher of the Year and one MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Rudy Rott was the first player to win the MAC Player of the Year award twice in league history, while Mitch Longo won the award in 2015. Logan Cozart was MAC Pitcher of the Year, while he and Rott were All-Americans. Tyler Finkler became the first Bobcat to garner MAC Defensive Player of the Year recognition under Smith's guidance.
Four Bobcats – Rott, Longo, Cozart and Brett Barber – were all drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Rott was the highest selected Bobcat under Smith after being selected with the 270th pick in the ninth round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
"In coaching the relationships and interactions with players is what drives most coaches, myself included, Smith added. "It takes effort, hard work and commitment to win two MAC championships. It's a difficult thing to do and it's not done without the effort of the players. I have been lucky to work with some tremendous student-athletes and I look forward to continuing those relationships. I am indebted to them."
Smith won his first MAC title in his third year at OU after engineering an unprecedented turnaround in his third season as head coach of the Bobcats in 2015. Under his watch, the Bobcats posted an NCAA-best 25-win improvement en route to capturing the 2015 MAC Championship -- Ohio's first league title since 1997. Ohio's 36 wins in 2015 rank as the second-most in a single season in school history.
Smith's 2017 title came by defeating No. 3-seeded Eastern Michigan, 7-4, in the 2017 MAC Championship. Ohio earned its third MAC tournament title with the victory. The Bobcats took down No. 4-seeded Ball State and No. 1-seeded Kent State the following day before defeating EMU. After missing the national postseason tournament 17 years in a row, Ohio punched its second NCAA Regional ticket in three seasons as the MAC's automatic bid with the victory over Eastern Michigan, advancing to the 2017 NCAA Championship Lexington Regional.
