Tim Esmay named head baseball coach

Arizona State University has named Tim Esmay as head baseball coach. Esmay spent the 2010 season as the interim head coach, leading Arizona State to a 47-8 regular season record, including a 20-7 mark in Pac-10 play and the Pacific 10 Conference Championship. The Sun Devils earned the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, hosting a regional in Tempe for the fourth consecutive year.

The hire and terms of the contract are pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Prior to the 2010 season, Esmay spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach for ASU Baseball, including three as Assistant Head Coach. A former Sun Devil player and assistant coach, Esmay has coached a total of 10 seasons at Arizona State. He played two seasons as an infielder under Jim Brock in 1986 and 1987.

“I am pleased to announce that Tim Esmay has accepted the position of head baseball coach at Arizona State University,” Love said. “What Coach Esmay, his coaching staff, and team have accomplished thus far in 2010 is quite impressive, although not surprising. He has delivered to the ASU community a Pac-10 Championship underscored with a commitment to character and academic achievement. As evidenced by fantastic attendance at games this season, ASU baseball is an icon to our community, and we look forward to an exciting future under Coach Esmay’s leadership. For now, we wish this team and staff the very best in postseason play.”

“I am extremely honored to lead this program and carry on the storied tradition,” Esmay said. “To be able to be the head coach at my alma mater is a dream come true!”

Esmay was the head baseball coach at the University of Utah from 1997 to 2004, winning a WAC title and WAC Coach of the Year honors in 1997. In eight seasons at Utah he compiled a 213-235-1 record. Esmay had 18 of his players go on to play professional baseball, including three from his last team in 2004. He also had 27 players earn all-conference honors during his tenure.

Esmay began his coaching career following his playing days at Arizona State (1986-1987). He served as an assistant coach at Arizona State under Jim Brock from 1988 to 1990, then again in Brock's final season of 1994. He returned to Arizona State in 2005 as an assistant coach, helping the team to a third-place national finish and an appearance in the College World Series. He was named the assistant head coach before the 2007 season and served in that capacity in each of the past three seasons, winning three straight Pac-10 titles and advancing to the College World Series twice.

Over his playing and coaching career, Esmay has been a part of six teams that played in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska (1987, 1988, 1994, 2005, 2007, 2009).

Esmay was a two-year starter for the Sun Devils following an All-American career at Scottsdale Community College. The infielder hit .305 (121-for-397) during his two years in Tempe with 23 doubles and five home runs. He was a member of ASU's 1987 College World Series team and was named to the All-West Region team that season.

A graduate of Horizon High School, where his number 5 was retired in 1998, Esmay also coached at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix for two years (1992-93) and was an assistant at Grand Canyon University (1995) and Utah (1996) before taking over the head job in Salt Lake City in 1997.

Esmay's eight-year career at Utah also saw his teams completely rewrite the Ute record books. In his first season directing the Utah baseball program, Esmay did what no Ute coach had done in 32 years when he led Utah to a WAC division title and a 36-21-1 record in 1997. The Utes posted a 22-8 record in the Northern Division that year. They also set nine school records as Esmay was named the 1997 Louisville Slugger WAC Coach of the Year. In 2002, Esmay guided Utah to a 33-26 overall and 16-14 conference record. The 33 wins is the second most in school history since 1963, and the second-place league finish is the Utes best since joining the MWC in 1999. Senior pitcher Mitch Maio garnered 2002 MWC Co-Player of the Year honors.