June 7, 2012
Arizona State University produced an NCAA-best 10 selections in the recent 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, including five in the first five rounds for the first time in program history since 1984. However, that is just one part of a three-year trend that ASU head baseball coach Tim Esmay has put together since taking over the program prior to the 2010 season.
Thirty-one Sun Devils have been taken in the MLB Draft in coach Esmay's three seasons at ASU, which is the most of any Div. I school in that time span and five more than the next closest team, Florida.
Two players who spent a season with coach Esmay in 2010 have already made their Major League debuts, and five of the six players whom he had mentored for their entire ASU careers were drafted in the first five rounds of the 2012 MLB Draft: Andrew Aplin, Jake Barrett, Joey DeMichele, Deven Marrero and Brady Rodgers.
"He's a great coach, but more importantly, he's a great guy to be around and someone who knows how to lead a team to success," said Rodgers, who finished his three-year Sun Devil career with the second-best ERA in the aluminum bat era in program history. "As a player's coach, he knows when to get on you when it's needed, but also when to step back and just let you play."
Through three seasons at the helm of the Sun Devil baseball team, coach Esmay has guided ASU to the highest regular-season winning percentage in the Pac-12 since 2010 and is the second-fastest coach in ASU history to reach 100 wins after passing the century mark this year in an 11-2 win over UC Riverside on Feb. 26.
Coach Esmay has posted a winning record in the 65 games he has played against top-25 teams, and also has a winning record against four of the top teams in the Pac-12, including Arizona, Oregon State, Oregon and UCLA.
He has orchestrated six three-game series sweeps twice in his three-year tenure, including this past season, after the feat had only been accomplished 10 times in the 30 years prior to his arrival. The Sun Devils also recorded four straight Pac-12 home series sweeps in 2012 for the first time since 1988 and only the third time in program history. ASU has swept four Pac-10/12 opponents in a season just seven times since 1979.
Rewind to Feb. 19, 2010, when coach Esmay made his debut as the Sun Devils' skipper with an 8-0 win over Northern Illinois. The season-opening victory would prove to be a part of something special as the team went on an unprecedented 24-game winning streak, breaking the school record set in 1961 for most consecutive victories to open a season.
That 2010 season turned out to be one of the most memorable debut seasons at any school in collegiate baseball history: Coach Esmay earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors as the team won the Pac-10 Conference title with a 52-10 record, including a 20-7 mark in conference play, and secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and a berth in the College World Series.
The Sun Devils would win all five postseason games played at Packard Stadium, including two thrilling Super Regional wins over Arkansas to send Arizona State to the College World Series for the second straight year.
Along with conference coach of the year honors, coach Esmay helped Zack MacPhee to the Pac-10 Player of the Year award and a unanimous First Team All-American selection, while Seth Blair took home Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year honors.
Following the NCAA-imposed scholarship reductions for the baseball program's 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes, 2013 was the first time in coach Esmay's tenure that he had the full number of scholarships available and, along with associate head coach Travis Jewett and assistant coach Ken Knutson, he signed the No. 1 ranked recruiting class, according to Perfect Game USA.
Combining that with the Pac-12's only 12-game winner returning for his junior season, along with a host of position players and pitchers who saw significant playing time, coach Esmay has put himself in a great position to build on the baseball program's storied 53-year history and add a sixth national championship.
A Look At Coach Esmay At ASU
|
Year |
Overall |
Conference |
Notes |
|
2010 |
52-10 (.829) |
20-7 (.741) |
Pac-10 Champs/College World Series/Pac-10 Coach of the Year |
|
2011 |
43-18 (.705) |
17-10 (.630) |
Second in Pac-10/Advanced to NCAA Super Regionals |
|
2012 |
36-20 (.643) |
18-12 (.600) |
Third-best record in Pac-12/4 straight Pac-12 home series sweeps |
The Past Three Seasons (2010-12) In The Pac
|
School |
Overall Record |
|
Arizona State |
131-48 (.732) |
|
UCLA |
128-55 (.699) |
|
Oregon State |
111-61 (.645) |
|
Arizona |
111-62 (.641) |
|
Oregon |
115-67-1 (.630) |
|
Stanford |
104-63 (.622) |
|
School |
Conference Record |
|
UCLA |
56-28 (.666) |
|
Arizona State |
55-29 (.655) |
|
Oregon State |
47-37 (.559) |
|
Arizona |
47-37 (.559) |
|
Stanford |
46-37 (.554) |
|
Oregon |
43-41 (.511) |
Stacking Up Against ASU Coaches
|
ASU Baseball Coaches |
Record at 100 wins |
|
Coach Jim Brock |
100-12 (.893) |
|
Coach Tim Esmay |
100-29 (.775) |
|
Coach Bobby Winkles |
100-46 (.685) |
|
Coach Pat Murphy |
100-59 (.629) |