Smith Named Big 12 Coach of the Year
7/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 22, 2000
WACO, Texas - Baylor baseball coach Steve Smith has been selected the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the league's head coaches, the conference announced Monday.
Smith led the Bears to a 23-7 conference record and their first outright conference championship in 77 years. In 1999, he led Baylor to a 50-win season, the first in the program's history. In six seasons at Baylor, Smith has posted a 225-128-1 record.
Freshman closer Zane Carlson was voted Freshman Pitcher of the Year. With 15 saves, Carlson has set new Baylor records for saves in a season and career saves. He has a 2.28 ERA.
Carlson joins teammates Kyle Evans and Chad Hawkins on the first team. Evans, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., posted an 11-1 record with a 3.30 ERA. He also tossed the Bears' first no-hitter since 1982 against Iowa State. Hawkins, from Grapevine, Texas, boasts an 11-4 record and ranks fourth in the nation with a 1.85 ERA.
Baylor also placed four players on the league's second team, including Preston Underdown, Kelly Shoppach, Jaime Bubela and Jace Brewer.
