Jan. 13, 2005

WACO, Texas - Baylor baseball head coach Steve Smith has been named head coach for the USA Baseball National Team that will represent the United States this summer, USA Baseball announced Thursday.

"Coach Smith is very highly regarded among his peers, and we're extremely excited to welcome him back as our head coach for the upcoming summer," Eric Campbell, USA Baseball General Manager, National Teams, said. "Steve is an outstanding teacher of the game, and we look forward to him guiding the top amateur players in the nation this coming summer."

This will be Smith's second tour of duty with USA Baseball, but his first as a head coach. Smith served as an assistant coach under Ron Polk on the 1998 USA Baseball National Team that posted an overall record of 30-12. He becomes just the second USA Baseball National Team head coach to be affiliated with the Big 12 Conference (Mark Johnson, Texas A&M, 1999).

"It is indeed an honor to have this opportunity, and I look forward to a great summer," Smith said. "Representing the United States in International competition is a privilege, and I feel very fortunate to have been chosen to lead the 2005 National Team."

In June, USA Baseball will invite 36 of the nation's top freshman and sophomore collegiate players to the USA Baseball National Team Trials. After the team is selected, Smith will direct Team USA in a pair of series in the Far East - the 34th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series in Japan & a five-game Friendship Series vs. Chinese Taipei in Taiwan.

Team USA will then return home to open the third summer of play at their new headquarters in the North Carolina Triangle Region. The 2005 USA Baseball National Team will play a pair of three-game series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park against two different international opponents (TBD).

Smith begins his second decade as head coach at Baylor in 2005. In his first decade, Smith guided the program to near unprecedented heights, including the most successful six-year run in the program's 100-year history. Smith has compiled a 372-234-1 career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage of any coach in Baylor baseball history, and he ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories.

A Gulfport, Miss., native, Smith has led Baylor to six NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and the 2000 Big 12 Conference title. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.

Baylor's connection with the USA Baseball National Team has strengthened during Smith's tenure as seven of the program's eight selections have come since 1996. Jason Jennings was a member of the team in 1997 and in 1998. Other Smith-coached Baylor student-athletes to play for Team USA include Bryan Loeb (1998), Jon Topolski (1998), Zane Carlson (2000), Kelly Shoppach (2000) and Michael Griffin (2003).

USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate), the USA Baseball Junior National Team (18-under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under) which participate in various international competitions each year. The USA Baseball headquarters are based in Durham, N.C., with future training facilities in Cary, N.C.