Tim Esmay Out. Search is on for New Baseball Coach

Last week, Tim Esmay resigned as ASU’s baseball coach.  Esmay apparently resigned after meeting with the new athletic director.

So, now the search is on for a new baseball coach for ASU.

Esmay was the head coach for five seasons, from 2010-2014.  At ASU, he accumulated a record of 201-94-1.  That gives him a winning percentage of .679, which is 10th highest in the history of the PAC-12.  Esmay was the PAC-10 coach of the year in his first season in 2010, the only year that he took his team to Omaha for the college world series.  He corralled two conference championships and has had 59 former players go on to play professional baseball.

Esmay took over for the embattled, but respected Pat Murphy who was fired for recruiting violations.  Esmay had to endure the NCAA sanctions from those violations by not being allowed any post-season play in 2011.  Esmay resigned after going 0-2 in the post-season this year.

ASU now has the task of finding a worthy coach who is ready for the scrutiny and high standards of ASU baseball.  It may not be an easy task.  Esmay was respected in his profession and had a good run in Tempe.  But for Sun Devil fans who embrace the elite status of baseball here, “having a good run” is just not good enough.

The fan base and the alumni at ASU expect greatness.  They expect their coach to recruit the best players in the nation.  They expect ASU to be PAC-12 champs and take annual trips to Omaha.  Of course, that’s not realistic, or fair.  But it is what it is.  Most programs across the country would be glad to just make the post-season every year.  But in Tempe, anything but a trip to the college world series is considered a disappointment and a letdown.

The short list of possible candidates in the rumor mill are TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, College of Charleston coach Montee Lee and Nebraska coach Darin Erstad.  Whoever ASU courts and eventually hires, they’ll have to pay him enough money to put up with the high expectations of ASU baseball.  Hopefully, that coach will take the money and embrace the challenge and bring ASU baseball back to an elite status.