Steve Smith Position: Head Coach Experience: 14th season Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986

Steve Smith is in his 14th season as head coach of Baylor's baseball program in 2008. In his first 13 years, Smith guided the program to unprecedented heights, including the most successful 10-year run in the program's history and a 2005 College World Series appearance. Smith also serves as 2008 president of the American Baseball Coaches Association.

A 2006 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Smith has compiled a 490-311-1 career record, all at Baylor. He holds the third-best winning percentage (.612) of any coach in Baylor baseball history, the second-best among coaches with at least 10 years of service. He also ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories and enters the 2008 season 10 wins shy of No. 500.

Smith has led Baylor to nine NCAA Regional appearances, three NCAA Super Regional appearances, one College World Series appearance and two Big 12 Conference titles. Baylor is one of only 15 Division I programs and one of only two Big 12 Conference schools with at least nine NCAA Regional appearances in the last 10 years. Smith also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.

Off the field, Smith's teams have maintained a high standard of excellence in the classroom and in the community. In 2007, Baylor was one of 30 Division I programs and the only Big 12 school to receive a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program for having an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score among the nation's top 10 percent. The Bears' APR was 983 with an adjusted squad size mark of 992. The baseball team was Baylor's only program so honored.

The names of Baylor baseball players regularly appear on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the Baylor 3.4 Club and on national academic awards lists. Additionally, the Bears are actively involved in service projects both on campus and in the Waco community.

Last season, Smith guided one of his youngest teams ever to a spot in the NCAA Houston Regional thanks largely to a late-season run. A ninth-inning rally in the series finale at Texas A&M sparked a stretch in which Baylor won 10 of 13 games. The last three of those victories were in pool play at the Big 12 Conference Championship where the Bears knocked off 21st-ranked Oklahoma State 3-1, 11th-ranked Missouri 10-5 and Oklahoma 7-6 to reach the event's title game for the fifth time, the second-most appearances in conference history.

Baylor posted a 1-2 record at the Houston Regional, marking the sixth consecutive regional appearance in which the Bears won at least one game. In fact, Baylor has reached the championship round five times since 2001, winning two and losing to eventual College World Series participants in each of the other three.

The 2007 Bears reached the 35-win plateau for the ninth time under Smith; Baylor had reached 35 victories in a season only five times prior to Smith's tenure. The second most-tenured head coach in the Big 12 Conference, Smith has led Baylor to a 181-120 league record in the conference's 11-year history; that .601 winning percentage ranks second in the conference. Baylor joins Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as the only schools to appear in every Big 12 Tournament.

Smith is 199-150 in conference games during his time at Baylor, earning 18 wins in the final two seasons of the Southwest Conference. His .570 conference winning percentage ranks second in school history and is the best among coaches with at least 10 years of service. He enters the 2008 season one conference victory shy of No. 200 and 34 conference wins shy of Mickey Sullivan's school record.

In 2005, Smith guided Baylor to its best season ever. The Bears finished 46-24, reached the national semifinals at the College World Series and ranked fourth nationally at season's end, the highest final ranking in the program's history. Baylor also posted a 19-8 Big 12 Conference record in 2005, sharing the regular season conference crown with Nebraska. Smith was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the San Antonio Express-News and the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Baylor's pitching staff ranked 12th nationally in team ERA in 2005, posting a 3.23 mark. It was the ninth-lowest team ERA in school history, the lowest since 1977 and the second-lowest at Baylor in the aluminum bat era. Four regular Baylor pitchers posted ERAs below 3.00, led by Ryan LaMotta's 2.15 mark that ranked 26th nationally. Jeff Mandel had a 1.91 ERA in 66.0 innings; while he was four innings shy of qualifying for NCAA rankings (where he would have ranked 13th), Mandel's ERA ranked 10th in school history for pitchers with at least 45.0 innings and was the fourth-lowest of the aluminum bat era. Opponents hit just .234 off Baylor pitching, led by Mark McCormick's .184 average.

Following the 2005 season, Smith served as head coach of the USA Baseball National Team. He joined former Texas A&M head coach Mark Johnson as the only Big 12 coaches to have served as Team USA head coach. Smith, who previously served as an assistant under Mississippi State head coach Ron Polk on the 1998 National Team, led the 2005 squad to a 16-4 record during the non-championship summer tour. Team USA was 14-0 on American soil under Smith.

Smith was named head coach of the Baylor baseball program July 29, 1994, replacing Baylor legend Mickey Sullivan, who retired after 21 seasons. Smith is the 18th head coach in Baylor history. He was named the 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Bears to their first outright conference title in 77 years.

In January 2001, Smith was named by Baseball America as one of 10 rising stars on all levels of baseball. He was the only person associated with college baseball on the list. In January 2007, he was elevated to first vice-president of the American Baseball Coaches Association and this season serves as the organization's president.

An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored seven pitchers in the last 14 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also has coached at least one all-conference pitcher in each of the last 14 seasons. In 1999, under Smith's tutelage, right-hander/designated hitter Jason Jennings won the Golden Spikes Award as the best player in college baseball and was the 16th overall pick by the Colorado Rockies. In fact, Jennings claimed every national player of the year award that season, becoming the first consensus national player of the year in Division I history.

Since the inception of the Big 12, Baylor ranks second in the league with 57 Major League Baseball draft selections. Such success continued in 2005 as the Bears produced a school-record nine draftees to rank third nationally in number of players drafted. Included in that group was right-handed pitcher Mark McCormick, a first-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In Smith's 13 years as head coach, the Bears have produced 12 All-Americans, including two-time honoree Jennings, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 34 first-team all-conference performers, eight freshman All-Americans and three conference players of the year. Baylor has placed 52 players on the Big 12 Academic All-Conference first team in the conference's first 11 seasons, 12 more than any other program.

Baylor saw its 2003 season end in the program's second-ever NCAA Super Regional appearance, losing to LSU two games to one. The Bears finished the season ranked 11th nationally with a 45-23 record and set team single-season marks in eight statistical categories, including batting average, hits, doubles and total bases.

In 2002, Baylor earned its fifth straight NCAA Tournament selection and once again ranked among the nation's top 25 baseball teams nearly all season. The Bears opened the year hot and claimed series wins against then-No. 6 Southern California, eventual national champion Texas and 2002 College World Series participant Nebraska. Baylor advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Austin Regional, the team's third regional title game in four years.

The Bears went 37-24 in 2001 and capped off the year with their fourth straight trip to an NCAA regional tournament. Catcher Kelly Shoppach was a consensus first team All-America selection, as well as being named the Big 12 Player of the Year and winning the Johnny Bench Award.

En route to winning the 2000 Big 12 Conference title, the Bears posted a 45-17 record, marking Smith's third straight 40-win season. The Bears also participated in their third consecutive NCAA regional, hosting the event for the second year in a row.

In 1999, the Bears posted a 50-15 record and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional, also hosted by Baylor. The Bears' 50 wins broke the school record of 43 set in 1977 when the Bears went to the College World Series. In addition, the 1999 squad posted its second straight 100-100 season, hitting more than 100 home runs and stealing more than 100 bases. Baylor was one of only two schools to accomplish this two years in a row.

The 1998 Baylor baseball team finished the season with a 41-20-1 record. The squad broke or tied 40 team and individual records, set a Big 12 record with a 14-game winning streak and participated in the NCAA regional tournament in Gainesville, Fla. In addition, Smith was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by two publications.

Following the 1998 season, Smith spent the summer serving as the pitching coach for the USA National Team. Smith directed a pitching staff that consisted of the nation's top freshmen and sophomores to a 30-12 record with a 3.72 team ERA. The USA National Team played in the World Championships qualifier in Managua, Nicaragua, before advancing to the World Championships in Palermo, Sicily.

Smith's track record, however, cannot be measured over one season or one team. His ability to help athletes make it to the professional ranks is impressive. Since 1992, Smith has coached 59 players who have signed professional contracts, including 51 in the past 13 years as a head coach. Twenty-two of those 59 were pitchers, including first-round picks Kip Wells (1998, Chicago White Sox), Jason Jennings (1999, Colorado Rockies), Chad Hawkins (2000, Texas Rangers) and Mark McCormick (2005, St. Louis Cardinals).

Smith began his playing career as a two-sport standout in baseball and football at Gulfport (Miss.) High School, where he quarterbacked the 1978 Gulfport High team to a state championship. On the diamond, Smith excelled as a pitcher. As a senior, he was 8-2 on the mound with a 0.81 ERA, earning all-state honors and an appearance in the 1979 Mississippi High School All-Star Game.

Following high school, Smith went on to Mississippi College, where he lettered in football and baseball (1979-80). He pitched 42.2 innings with a 1.27 ERA and 26 strikeouts for the Choctaws. As a true freshman, Smith quarterbacked the football team to the Gulf South Conference title and a third-place finish in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Smith then transferred to Baylor, sitting out the 1981 season due to NCAA transfer rules. While playing for the Bears in 1982, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA, bettering league foes and future major league pitchers Norm Charlton, Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek and Calvin Schiraldi. He posted a 5-4 record in nine starts, giving up only 13 earned runs in 68 innings pitched. In 1983, he was 6-7 with a 3.57 ERA for the Bears, allowing only 32 earned runs in 80.2 innings of work.

After being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 1983 free agent draft, Smith spent four years working his way through the Giants' minor league system, ending his professional career in 1986 with the Class AAA Phoenix Firebirds. In his initial season of professional baseball with the Great Falls Giants, Smith went 8-3 with 107 strikeouts in 94 innings and only 16 walks. After an elbow injury limited him to only 60 innings in 1984, Smith won eight games for the Fresno Giants en route to the California League championship in 1985.

Smith returned to Baylor in 1986 to complete a degree in secondary education. He then served as a graduate assistant for coach Mark Johnson at Texas A&M, where he received his master's degree in business administration in 1989. While at A&M, his coaching responsibilities included working with the outfielders and assisting with recruiting, scouting and summer camps. During his tenure at A&M, the Aggies compiled a 110-22 record, captured a share of the Southwest Conference title and appeared in two NCAA regional tournaments.

Following his stint at A&M, Smith spent the next five years on Polk's staff at Mississippi State, working primarily with the pitchers. He also served as the recruiting coordinator and put together the nation's top recruiting class, as ranked by Collegiate Baseball, in 1994. In addition, Smith directed the MSU baseball camps that drew more than 1,000 campers each year and grew to be one of the nation's top baseball camps.

During his first year at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs advanced to the College World Series, where they finished fifth with a final record of 50-21.

Smith then guided a Bulldog pitching staff that ranked among the top three Southeastern Conference schools in ERA in each of the last four seasons he was there. His 1992 staff led the league and ranked 14th nationally with a 3.22 ERA. That staff also posted the lowest ERA of a MSU team since 1976 and set a school record with 504 strikeouts on the season.

While at MSU, Smith was also responsible for the development of three major league first-round draft picks in B.J. Wallace, Jay Powell and Carlton Loewer.

Impressively, in his seven years as an assistant coach, Smith made six NCAA regional appearances and coached for three teams that were ranked No. 1 nationally at one point in the season.

Off the field, Smith co-produced a two-volume video, "The Care and Maintenance of the Pitching Shoulder," and has since released an instructional video, "Preparing for Pitcher Success." He speaks to numerous youth and civic groups each year and serves as a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Woodway.

Smith also was instrumental in creating Baylor's first baseball support group, Heart of the Order, with a current membership of more than 300.

Smith, 46, is married to the former Melinda Newcom of Fort Worth. Melinda, also a Baylor graduate, was a Baylor yell leader from 1981 to 1983. They have two sons, Ryan (15) and Case (13).