Coach Pat Murphy completed the ASU baseball team's annual rebuilding process Monday by adding two new faces to the dugout.
Former Sun Devils infielder Tim Esmay and former USC pitcher Jack Krawczyk were hired as assistant coaches, replacing Mike Rooney and Chris Sinacori, both of whom left after last season.
Esmay, 39, comes to ASU after spending eight seasons as Utah's head coach. He'll coach third base and work with the team's infielders and hitters, and he'll also help longtime assistant Jay J. Sferra with recruiting.
Fresh off a summer stint as a pitching coach in the Alaska Baseball League, Krawczyk, 29, will serve in the same capacity at ASU and he'll direct the program's youth baseball camps. It marks Krawczyk's first college coaching job.
"In today's landscape in college baseball, to maintain a top-15 or top-10 program, it takes four quality people working together," said Murphy, entering his 11th season as ASU's head coach. "My tenured assistant, Jay Sferra, is one of the top recruiters in the country, and to accent that with these two guys gives us a great staff."
At Utah, Esmay sent 18 players to the professional ranks, including three from last year's team, which went 22-36 and failed to make the postseason. Esmay fielded his best team in 1997, as Utah won the Western Athletic Conference championship for the first time in 32 years.
Esmay, a Scottsdale native, coached for two years at Phoenix Brophy College Prep, and then worked as an assistant at Grand Canyon University. He was an assistant at Utah for one season before being elevated to head coach.
A two-year starter for the Sun Devils, Esmay batted .305 with 23 doubles and five home runs. He played on the 1987 College World Series team, and later underwent two stints as an assistant under the late Jim Brock.
Esmay said that returning to Tempe was an easy decision, even though he had to give up the head coaching reigns he enjoyed at Utah.
"Being a Sun Devil has always been in my blood, and it always will be," Esmay said. "All the headaches are in Murph's hands, and now I get to go out and coach and be behind the scenes."
Krawczyk, also from Scottsdale, is considered the top relief pitcher in college baseball history, having marked an NCAA-record 49 saves in a four-year career from 1995-98.
His most memorable pitching performance came in the 1998 national championship game, as he recorded the last five outs to secure USC's 21-14 win over ASU. Krawczyk was named to the All-College World Series team, in addition to garnering first-team All-America honors.
Selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 25th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball amateur draft, Krawczyk spent six seasons with three different teams, advancing as high as Triple-A. He finished his playing career last year as a player/coach with the South Bend Silver Hawks, an Arizona Diamondbacks Single-A affiliate.
Krawczyk claims he doesn't mind the heavy expectations placed on him and Esmay.
"I thrive on pressure, as a player as well as a coach," Krawczyk said. "I know what the goal is here, and I know how to get there. The goal is to get to Omaha and to actually win in Omaha. That's my drive, and if players don't want that, they have no business pitching."
Said Esmay: "It's Omaha or bust, and we all know that. Those are realistic expectations for me and those are realistic expectations for the program."
Next season, ASU welcomes 15 newcomers, including 11 freshmen, two junior-college transfers and one senior transfer. Switch-hitting shortstop Andrew Romine and outfielder J.J. Sferra, the son of assistant Jay J. Sferra, highlight a strong recruiting class. Two-way player Seth Garrison, infielder Vinny Biancamano, left-handed pitcher Drew Bowman and Miami transfer Joey Hooft also will be counted on to make immediate contributions.
Infielder Jeff Larish (13th round, Los Angeles Dodgers) and ace pitcher Jason Urquidez (11th round, Cincinnati Reds) both opted to return for their senior seasons, despite getting picked in this summer's amateur draft. Right fielder Travis Buck, coming off a productive summer with the U.S. national baseball team, is back for his junior season.
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
