Jack Smitheran coached the University of California-Riverside baseball program for 31 seasons.
Smitheran was an infielder under Bobby Winkles at Arizona State, playing from 1964 to 1966. He was a member of the 1965 National Champions, the first baseball championship in school history. He hit .301 for the Sun Devils in his career.
He was named the UC Riverside head coach in 1974 after four seasons at Emporia State. When he took over the UCR program, they were a little-known Division II team. In just his fourth season he led the Highlanders to a national championship (1977), then won a second in 1982.
He guided the program into the NCAA Div. I ranks in 2002, earning an NCAA Regional bid in 2003. He retired following the 2004 season with a career record of 1,097-790-3.
Smitheran was inducted into the UC-Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
