Long Beach State Athletics!: Re: Evaluate head coaching hiring decisions...

Andy also hired Tyler, which was seen as a great hire (although the transition with McKenzie-Fuerbringer was messy). Tyler’s actually history was mixed—he brought excitement, but the results weren’t much of an improvement in conference. Grade B

Smitheran gave Natalie a 6 year contract, which means that we could be stuck in mediocrity for a long time. Grade D

Smitheran will replace one of the most successful programs over the last decade and a half—Women’s tennis. That’s going to be a tall order. Hilt-Costello did more with less than most coaches, and that will be hard to replace or replicate.

Previous Message

One criteria (out of many) in evaluating Smitheran and previous A.D.’s is head coaching hiring decisions. Starting with Andy Fee, here are the hiring decisions that have been made:

Andy Fee

Extending Dan Monson – Although not a new hire, Fee had a chance to choose anyone, but he choose to bring back Monson for 5 years. Rating – D

Shana Welch (WWP) – Has had 3 excellent seasons in a row. Rating – A

Alyssa Waite (WG) – Team has done very well and produced some excellent individual players. Rating – A

Ted Kadowaki (Interim A.D.)

Amy Wright (WBB) – Thought this was going to be an excellent hire based on her years of P4 assistant coaching experience. She’s been about .500 over her two years. Third year will be critical in assessing this decision. Rating – C

Rob Murray (MG) – Has had 2 or 3 successful years since his hiring. Has been ranked as one of the higher “mid-major” schools each year. Rating – A

Bobby Smitheran

Natalie Reagan (WVB) – Was hired as the permanent coach late this past year. Seems to have recruited well, but unclear how many were mined by Tyler during his tenure. After Tyler left, she did an incredible job keeping all the returnees. This year, not so much. Five or six key players entered the transfer portal after this season. Went out and brought 3 players in from the transfer portal, although they look more like depth pieces than prime time players. The 25-26 team will have talent but lacks experience. How the 25-26 season goes will provide a better view of this hire. Rating – B

Chris Acker (MBB) – Replaced an unpopular coach and thus, his hiring was not scrutinized carefully and was well received. From his hiring to before the season, the positive vibes continued. Then, the regular season started and all of the warts started to show. Seemed unwilling to change his offensive philosophy to the players he recruited. Played 7 or 8 players all year when he probably should have played others to see what he had. At the end of a long terrible year, 11 players said no thank you, I’ll try my luck with the portal. In retrospect, Acker was probably not the best hire. Smitheran assumed what would work at SDSU could be easily replicated at LBSU. He should have known that the college basketball environment has completely changed. Low majors (that’s us) can no longer hire a coach who needs 3 or 4 years to instill “his system” and wait for the fruits of his labor. No – with NIL, schools at our level need someone who can rebuild a roster almost every year and win. It’s not easy but it can be done. Look at CSUN and how well Cal Poly played at the end of last season. Both schools had coaches seasoned at the D2 level who were used to having changed rosters yearly but still able to thrive. Acker is not that…he probably would have been a decent choice 15 years ago before the age of NIL, but not now. Rating – D

TJ Bruce (Baseball) – Hired for his local connections and experience at the assistant and head coaching levels. Currently, the team is well below .500 but showing some signs of life. Still have 23 regular season games left, so it’s possible they make it back to .500. Hard to evaluate his hire at this point. Rating - C

Previous Message

Our administrative director has not been effective in supporting the department. Staff members are not performing their duties adequately. Event promotion has been virtually nonexistent. For instance, this week’s team fundraisers, events, other schools promoting a week ago, and our department’s event the day before with minimal outreach. In event activities, there is a lack of creative thinking. The excuse given is that the director’s hands are tied. However, it is the small, low-cost initiatives that make a significant difference. This is not about personal connections; it is about overseeing and leading the department with strong ideas and direction.