Story Courtesy of Miami Athletic Communications
OXFORD, Ohio – On Tuesday, August 4, Miami's Director of Athletics David Sayler announced that head coach Brian Smiley has agreed to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2032 baseball season.
"This extension is certainly not just about me. It's a testament to the tireless work of our assistant coaches and their families, our support staff and definitely our players. My wife Katie, our three children and I have fallen in love with Miami and Oxford and are happy to continue calling this home for many years to come. We have come a long way in three years," said Smiley. "The foundation has been laid, and the expectations are in place to continue building this program into a national contender. I'd like to thank David Sayler for sharing the same vision for baseball here at Miami as I do and for the championship level of support he provides. I would like to especially thank Darrell Hallberg for his everyday guidance and investment in not only this program but also in me personally. There is zero doubt that without Darrell we would not have made the strides we have made. He is the one who makes everything happen! I know I am speaking for our entire staff and our players past, present and future when I say that we are just getting started!"
Since taking over the program in June of 2023, Smiley has compiled 100 career wins, led the RedHawks to a pair of MAC regular-season championships, won a MAC Tournament, made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and earned MAC Coach of the Year honors twice. He has produced 17 All-MAC players, eight All-Region players, two All-Americans, one MAC Freshman of the Year, one Pitcher of the Year and one MAC Player of the Year. Academically, his student-athletes have earned 25 Academic All-MAC recognitions, 15 Academic All-District honors and one Academic All-America honor. In the past three seasons, Miami has had a total of four players selected in the MLB Draft.
Smiley most recently completed his third season as the head coach of the RedHawks, as he led the program to its second consecutive MAC regular-season championship. It was the first time that Miami Baseball has won back-to-back MAC regular season championships since 1973-1974. The Red and White finished the regular season 38-15 (25-8 MAC), breaking the previous single-season program record of 23 conference wins that was set in 2025.
In the 2025 season, Smiley was named the MAC Coach of the Year for leading the RedHawks to a regular-season title, MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
In Smiley's first year leading the RedHawks, Miami finished the season 17-13 in Mid-American Conference play, which marked the program's best conference record since 2019. The RedHawks went 27-27 overall, including a nine-game win streak (the best in five years) and advanced to the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2019.
"I am excited to announce this new contract for Coach Smiley. Ever since his arrival in Oxford the results on the field (back-to-back MAC regular-season titles) have been obvious, but just as important has been the growth academically and with community service that our Baseball program has shown," said Sayler. "They are living out our Graduating Champions mission year-in and year-out, and I am thrilled to have Brian leading these efforts."
