Tim Esmay resigns as Arizona State University baseball coach
Jun 9, 2014, 7:05 PM | Updated: 10:22 pm
As first reported by AZCentral Sports’ Jeff Metcalfe, Arizona State baseball coach Tim Esmay has resigned with one year remaining on his contract.
We have accepted Coach Esmay's resignation and will commence the search for a new championship coach immediately.
— Ray Anderson (@SunDevilRay23) June 9, 2014
The Devils are coming off a season in which they won 33 games but lost their only two postseason contests.
Esmay originally took over as the head coach in place of Pat Murphy prior to the 2010 season, and in five seasons at the helm guided ASU to a 201-94-1 record. His best season was his first, when the team won 52 games and advanced to the College World Series.
The team advanced to the NCAA Super Regional the following season but has failed to get past the opening round since, with its win total declining every season since Esmay took over. That, along with this season’s finish, led to speculation that the coach’s job status was a bit tenuous.
There is no word yet on who the school may look to as a replacement, but ASU athletic director Ray Anderson outlined what he’s looking for in the program’s next coach while chatting with media Monday.
“We want to see real strong leadership. We want to see energy. We want to see a culture of passion for the sport. We want to see an ability to feel good about being best in class and an elite program,” Anderson said. “We want to see a culture whereby you know you’re going to re-invigorate and recapture the elite status that this Arizona State University program had back in the championship era.
“That’s what we’ve promised and that’s what we intend to deliver.”
