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Unbeknownst to Tracz, who was in his first season as Army's pitching coach, it would be his last game in a Black Knights uniform.
A few weeks after the Longhorns ended arguably one of Army's most successful seasons ever, Marist College began its search for a head coach when Dennis Healy resigned to become the pitching coach at Wake Forest. The Red Foxes, from nearby Poughkeepsie (N.Y.), didn't have to look far for Healy's successor.
Chris Tracz was going home.
"We both thought that someday he would be back here," said Marist athletic director Tim Murray. "It was a little sooner than we thought."
Tracz, who, from 2001-2005 was one of the most prolific and accomplished pitchers in Marist College history and an assistant coach at the school from 2006-2008, was recently named the Red Foxes' head coach.
"It's neat because I'm back at my alma mater," said Tracz, who was in Connecticut this past month scouting players at the American Legion state tournament. "Marist, obviously, is a special place. Being there for eight years and kind of helping build the program as a player and recycling it as a coach, it's a special place to me and it's an opportunity to have the start of a head coaching career and really build something that I believe in because I was part of it before."
Said Murray: "I'm thrilled. Chris is an extremely hard worker and he understands what it takes to be successful here. He's done that as a player and a coach."
A former New Haven Register Athlete of the Year (2000) after a starry four years at North Branford High School - he was all-state in both basketball and baseball and a two-time Shoreline Conference Player of the Year in both sports - it didn't take long for Tracz to make bigger headlines in Poughkeepsie. The tall, lefthander won the first 10 decisions of his collegiate career. He finished 10-1 - his only loss came against Stanford in the first game of the NCAA Regionals - en route to being selected the 2001 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
Tracz was also chosen for the Loiusville Slugger and Baseball America Freshman All-American team.
In 2002, he earned MAAC Pitcher of the Year honors after going 10-3 with a 2.36 ERA. Tracz posted a 9-2 mark the following year. But his season ended with an elbow injury and the subsequent ligament replacement surgery kept Tracz from being drafted. The surgery also caused him to redshirt while missing the entire 2004 season.
Tracz came back and had a huge senior season, leading the Red Foxes to the NCAA tournament for the third time in his five-year career with a 3-2 victory over Niagara.
Tracz, who was named the 2005 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, finished Marist's career leader in strikeouts (298), wins (38), starts (56) and innings pitched (379.1). He is also tied for first on the Red Fox's all-time list for complete games (14) and second in earned run average (3.13).
"Fortunately, for me, I was able to locate and let at-bats play out during my career," Tracz said. "I didn't have to strike everyone out. I believed in my stuff and I never shied away from a team or batter."
Tracz served as Marist's team captain during his junior and senior years and his career strikeout-walk ratio of better than 4:1 (298-74) was the harbinger of his philosophy and role as a successful pitching coach.
In 2005, following graduation and right after re-injuring his elbow during a tryout with the Boston Red Sox, Tracz joined Marist's staff as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Over the next four years Tracz gained a reputation as a tireless recruiter. He was also getting results from his pitching staffs. In Tracz's first season (2006), the Red Foxes only issued 123 walks in 423 innings, the best mark in the MAAC. From 2007 to 2008, Marist improved its team ERA by nearly a full run.
"We don't have a lot of people throwing 90 miles an hour here," Tracz explained. "What made us successful was molding pitchers into a mind set of utilizing what you've got and attack people. Our philosophy will be to attack the offense with our best stuff and part of that is throwing strikes and letting things happen. You basically can't get hurt with a ball in play. That's why it's going to be important for us to recruit infielders that can field and outfielders that are fast."
When Tracz left Marist after the 2008 season to become the pitching coach at West Point, Army's media guide hailed Tracz as "one of the best bright pitching minds in the country."
Tracz helped the Black Knights win the Patriot League's regular season and tournament titles before the Knights' stunning run at the NCAA Austin Regional.
But Tracz's one season with Army was significant in more ways than one.
"We both felt it was important for him to get an additonal experience," said Murray.
Added Tracz: "Playing and coaching at Marist was the only thing I've ever known so it was good to see someone else's program and learn a little bit more about what it takes to run a program and get a feel about what's going on somewhere else."
Texas' miraculous 14-10 win on Clark's walk-off grand slam left Tracz "heartbroken."
"The toughest thing for me was that our kids deserved to win that game," Tracz said. "And it was heartbreaking because they played so well in the tournament (Army defeated Boston College earlier in the day) and they didn't get to enjoy winning that game."
At 27, Tracz, who is single and lives in Poughkeepsie, is one of the youngest Division I head coaches in the country.
"This is a great chance for him to lead our program," said Murray. "Chris knows the ins and outs of our school. It's a good academic school and a challenging place and Chris, with his hard work and good recruiting, has the potential to be very successful here."
Marist won the MAAC tournament last May, defeating Canisius, 13-9, in the championship game to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Red Foxes, however, dropped both games in the Tallahassee Regional, and finished with a won-lost mark of 31-28.
"It's a great opportunity at my age to take over a program that I have a lot invested in," said Tracz. "We're going to do things the right way. Our guys are going to go to class and they're going to play hard. But I think the biggest thing from a coaching perspective is focusing on the process of how we go about our daily business. We're going to take care of the little things, be prepared everyday and go into games knowing that we're ready."
Ready to shock the college baseball world, almost the way Army did.
