Coach Smiley's Biography

About Coach Jimmy Smiley

Jimmy Smiley is a current professional international pitching coach and player-development specialist. He is an ex-professional baseball player, ex-aerospace engineer, and former data team member at Tread Athletics, the nation’s top pitcher development facility.

Before transitioning to full-time baseball, Smiley worked on various government projects in the aerospace field helping design custom motors that are in space going to Saturn, and Mars.

At Tread, Smiley contributed to the integration of biomechanics, analytics, and motion capture systems to optimize athlete performance and enhance data-driven pitching instruction. Having also trained under Tread’s roof as an athlete himself, he gained firsthand experience at the intersection of technology and on-mound execution — bridging the gap between quantitative insight and practical skill development.

His mission is to bring this expertise and specialized skill set to help baseball players reach their full potential.

Collegiate Career — Whitman College to Columbia University

Smiley began his college career at Whitman College (NCAA Division III), where he was instrumental in elevating a rebuilding program. After recovering from a labrum injury his freshman year, he emerged as a key starter, earning All-Conference Honors and serving as a sophomore team captain.

Over two seasons at Whitman, he compiled a 7–3 record with two saves. Academically, Smiley graduated in just three years with a degree in physics and a minor in mathematics, earning All-Academic Northwest Conference Honors in 2017–2018.

Accepted to Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2018, Smiley walked on to the Division I Columbia Lions roster and quickly earned a role in the bullpen.

His 2019 campaign showcased elite command and competitiveness — a 3–0 record with two saves and a 3.60 ERA, highlighted by scoreless outings against Oklahoma, Miami, and a win against Army.

Summer League and Professional Baseball

In 2019, Smiley joined the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League, one of the nation’s premier summer collegiate circuits renowned for producing professional talent.

There, he became one of the league’s top relievers, earning All-Star Honors and being named Waterloo’s Reliever of the Year after posting a 1.92 ERA, a 4–1 record, four saves, and a team-leading 51⅔ innings pitched.

His performance drew attention from Major League organizations — including an invitation to complete MLB Draft Prospect Link from the Minnesota Twins.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 season and the draft reduction to 5 rounds due to COVID-19, Smiley completed his engineering degree and transitioned into professional baseball abroad.

International Career — Czech Extraliga

In 2021, while still finishing his Master's Degree, Smiley signed professionally with Jablonec Blesk of the Czech Baseball Extraliga, the country’s highest professional league.

He immediately made history, throwing a 130-pitch complete game for Blesk’s first-ever Extraliga victory and later earning the franchise’s first save.

Across the season, Smiley led the team in nearly every major pitching category — wins, saves, ERA, complete games, and strikeouts — while ranking second in the league in saves.

Remarkably, Smiley also became a two-way contributor, emerging as one of Blesk’s most productive hitters, finishing with a .429 on-base percentage and a top-five OPS among regulars. His combination of performance and leadership helped establish Jablonec as a respected competitor on the European stage.

Because of his play, Smiley was selected for the International Stars team in Prague Baseball Week, where he competed against national teams from across the continent.

2025 South East Asian Games, Malaysia Baseball

Most recently, Coach Smiley was appointed to the coaching staff of the Malaysian National Men’s Baseball Team. He led an exclusive week-long pitchers and catchers development camp focused on addressing the team’s primary performance gaps in preparation for the 33rd SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Smiley directed a month-long centralized “spring training” program for the full national team, which included instruction for coaches on advanced baseball strategy and game management.

Smiley independently designed and implemented a comprehensive development plan encompassing strength and conditioning, video analysis, arm care protocols, and full-team practice structure. The month-long camp included an intensive 20 consecutive days of three distinct daily training modules, totaling approximately 8–10 hours of instruction and on-field work per day.

Despite pitching more than 15 additional innings at the 2025 SEA Games compared to the entire 2024 competitive schedule, Team Malaysia showed significant defensive and pitching improvements. Under Coach Smiley’s leadership, the pitching staff allowed fewer hits, earned runs, stolen bases, and extra-base hits. The team reduced its ERA by more than 3.50, WHIP by 1.20, walks per nine innings by 3.5, opponent batting average by .090, and opponent stolen base success rate by 25%.