NEW ORLEANS – Tulane baseball head coach Travis Jewett announced Wednesday the addition of Eddie Smith as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Smith will serve as hitting and third base coach, as well as coordinate the Green Wave recruiting efforts. The Olympia, Wash., native spent the previous four years as head coach at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash. A graduate of Notre Dame, Smith has also coached at Virginia, Notre Dame and Santa Clara.
“We are very excited to announce the hiring of Eddie Smith,” Jewett said. “Eddie is a proven winner and comes to Tulane with such high regard from some of college baseball’s premier coaches. His familiarity with some of the nation’s finest academic institutions will certainly be a plus for us here at Tulane. Eddie possess a very smart baseball mind and is a tireless worker, and his insertion into our baseball program will certainly benefit all of our coaches and players alike. Please join me in welcoming Coach Smith to the Tulane Baseball Family.”
As head coach at Lower Columbia College, Smith compiled a 146-49 record in four years, and led the Red Devils to three straight West Region titles and Northwest Athletic Conference championships in 2015 and 2017. In addition, 27 players received Division I opportunities after playing at Lower Columbia.
“I’m really excited to get started with this program,” Smith said. “Tulane has been one of the top programs in college baseball for the last 20 years, and we’re looking to continue to stay at that level. I’m excited to work with this staff. Everybody here has had success at the national level, and I want to work with and learn from the best in the country.”
Smith began coaching as an assistant at Virginia where he helped the program emerge as a national power in baseball, earning three ACC Championships and two College World Series appearances in five years. In 2012 he joined the Santa Clara coaching staff and was part of a team that won 26 games. He then became an assistant coach at Notre Dame in 2013. After a seven-year hiatus in the national polls, this Fighting Irish team garnered a No. 15 national ranking that season.
In his 11 years as a coach, Smith has tutored 43 players that were drafted in the Major League Baseball Draft, including 21 selected in the top 10 rounds, and 13 players he has coached have played for MLB franchises.
As a player, Smith spent two years at Notre Dame, where he led the Fighting Irish to two Big East Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, including a No. 8 national ranking as a senior in 2006. He received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Notre Dame in 2006, and earned All-Big East academic honors.
Smith began his college career at Centralia Community College, helping the Trailblazers set a school record for wins in 2004. He was honored as a NWAC Red Lion scholar athlete that year, and was inducted in to the Centralia College Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Smith has also had stints in international coaching, spending time in the Dominican Republic, Aruba and Japan while also having played games in Russia and Canada. In the 2015 he was a member of the USA Baseball staff as an assistant coach with the 17U US National Team Development Program.
