Despite a tough 2017 season, ASU baseball looks poised to bounce back in 2018 as Baseball America ranked their recruiting the fourth-best in the nation.
The ASU baseball team is coming off an extremely disappointing season.
The program broke a historic stretch of success when the failed to reach 30 wins for the first time since 1963.
On the bright side, Tracy Smith has once again brought a strong recruiting class to Tempe.
Baseball America has ranked the new Sun Devil freshmen class as the 4th best in the country and the best in the Pac-12. The new infusion of talent, plus the continued maturity of the young core looks to put ASU in a stronger position to compete in 2018.
Arizona State’s position solidifies the program’s future and is definitely an asset for Tracy Smith, who’s future is uncertain following the dysfunction of the 2017 season.
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Smith saw five players leave the program a season ago, and there were numerous reports of clubhouse spats and the belief that Smith lost the trust and respect of his student athletes.
The future of the program depends a lot on this upcoming season, it remains to be seen how Sun Devil baseball rebounds.
Headlining the incoming class are infielder Alika Williams and pitcher Boyd Vander Kooi.
Williams is a defensive standout out of Southern California that Baseball America compared to Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed for his defensive prowess.
Vander Kooi on the other hand is a tall right-handed pitcher with a fastball that touches 93 mph, according to Baseball America. Vander Kooi could be used initially as a two-way player for ASU but his future is as a pitcher.
Other players expected to make impact in 2018 include infielders Drew Swift and Trevor Hauver. Both players are Arizona natives who are glove-first players with the hope being to develop the bats throughout their ASU careers.
The Sun Devils are the only Pac-12 team in the top 10 of the rankings, with UCLA next at No. 16.
This advantage in recruiting should be of little surprise to Sun Devil fans who are used to elite talent playing in Tempe.
The key in collegiate sports is to bring talent into your program, but the next step is to help them succeed at the next level.
Next: ASU Baseball: Summer update
Bringing in talent is only half the battle. Smith has succeeded off the field, but can his players succeed on the field?