Almost a week after the announcement that Paul Mainieri would be stepping down at the end of the season, LSU baseball will now have to fill another vacancy.
LSU assistant coach Eddie Smith was announced as the new baseball head coach for Utah Valley University. Smith becomes just the third baseball coach for UVU at the NCAA Division I level and the fifth all-time, which includes the program’s junior college era.
“Eddie Smith is a proven winner with a magnitude of experience at the highest levels of college baseball. He has a history of success everywhere he has been and has learned from some of the most successful head coaches in the country,” UVU Director of Athletics Dr. Jared Sumsion said in a statement. “Coach Smith has helped build national championship caliber teams and will have an immediate impact on our program. He has an energetic desire to help our student-athletes succeed both on and off the field. Eddie has strong regional roots in the West and expansive ties all around the country. His ability to recruit elite players is obvious by the success of the programs he has worked with. I am happy to welcome Eddie and his wife, Jennifer, to the Wolverine family.”
Smith is in the middle of his second season as the hitting coach for the Tigers after stops at programs like Tulane, Notre Dame and Virginia. He previously coached at Lower Columbia College in Columbia, Washington from 2014-2017.
“It is a great honor to be the baseball coach at Utah Valley. This program has the foundation to compete at a very high level and we can’t wait to get to work,” Smith said. “We will build the program around high character individuals who are committed to playing a tough brand of baseball. We look forward to having a baseball team that will make the community proud!”