Behind the Scenes: Saying Farewell to Smith's Ballpark
Written by Ryan Gallant / Photos by Anna Fuder, Sophia Kuder, Brad Lapp and Kory Mortensen
5/22/2025
Baseball at the University of Utah traces as far back as the year 1892.
For a time, the sport was paused at the U--but when it was reinstated beginning in the 1948 season, the Utes' first home game was played in downtown Salt Lake City at the corner of 13th South and West Temple, at the time the site of Derks Field.
The site evolved over the years as a host of college and professional baseball, among other events that drew crowds from near and far. Community Park opened on the corner in 1928, Derks Field followed in 1947 and what is now called Smith's Ballpark hosted its first game in 1994.
From 1996 through this past season, the Utes played the majority of their home games at Smith's Ballpark. And while there is much to be excited about on-campus with next season's arrival of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark, the memories held by players, coaches and fans from the previous home confines will live on.
As the 2025 season reached the late innings for the Utes, so too did the program's time at Smith's Ballpark. The team had one final home series on the docket, hosting TCU as the Utes and Horned Frogs were reunited as conference foes in the Big 12.
For the last game, the Utah Athletics photo team went behind the scenes to capture one last hurrah at the ballpark.
The Utes began to trickle into the park on Saturday morning, May 17, for the regular season finale. Pictured: Derek Smith, Kaden Carpenter, Lucas Boesen and Dillon Fine.
Once the team finished stretching and warming up, it was time to head into the cage for batting practice.
As is the norm, Sophia Kuder (photo) and Kaity Yarrow (video) were at field level to capture a variety of pregame, in-game and postgame content.
Fans began passing through the gates about an hour before first pitch. Everyone who came out to the ballpark was given a commemorative paper ticket specially designed for the final game.
The grounds crew goes through its pregame routine for the last time, preparing what the Utes (and for that matter, their opponents) enjoyed as one of college baseball's finest playing surfaces for many years. The field was treated in the same way for a Utes game as a professional Triple-A contest.
Back in the clubhouse, Tristan Argyle and the Utes' team of student managers are mudding up baseballs and getting them ready for the game.
The regular season finale marked Senior Day for the Utes. Above, the team's eight-man Class of 2025 and their families were recognized pregame by head coach Gary Henderson, director of athletics Mark Harlan and senior associate AD Jason Greco. Team marketing director Miles Gage was also on hand to help deliver the seniors' framed jerseys.
After the recognition took place, the mothers of the seniors remained on the field to each throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
Time to switch gears into game mode as Utah head coach Gary Henderson, TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos and the umpiring crew exchange lineup cards and review ground rules.
Two familiar faces to Utah fans, play-by-play voice Bill Riley and former longtime head baseball coach Bill Kinneberg, set the scene for the ESPN+ audience at home.
The Utes line up for the National Anthem, then take the field.
Fans grab their hot dogs and settle in with first pitch just moments away. In the upper deck, some younger fans are ready to chase down the next foul ball hit their way.
A full team of people are dialed in upstairs with various press box roles that help support the game.
Though the Utes faced their share of challenges in the 2025 season, this team was not one to go down quietly and it showed in the final game at Smith's. Above, Tyler Quinn pumps his fist after a ninth-inning single scored Austen Roellig to force extra innings. The Utes had trailed at one point by a 5-1 score.
Though TCU took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th inning, Utah came through with some heroics again. Jake Long poked a single that scored Drake Digiorno, who waved his hands in the dugout as athletic trainer Craig Chelette looked on.
Facing a deficit again in the 11th inning, the Utes brought the tying run to the plate but came up just short in their search for a victory to cap off the year. The team had one final postgame huddle in the outfield and shared some hugs as the season wrapped up.
Many of the 2,599 fans in attendance stuck around postgame to come down on the field, meet various members of the team and take one final walk around the warning track as nearly a century of baseball at 13th South and West Temple came to a close.
Looking Ahead
While May 17 marked the close of a long chapter in the history of baseball for not just the Utes but the state of Utah, an exciting new era is set to begin next season.
When Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark opens its doors in 2026, the Utes will not only move into an on-campus stadium for games, but bring under one roof all the support spaces that a program needs at the Power Conference level.
The FieldTurf playing surface will be surrounded by 1,200 seats plus a grass berm that brings total capacity to 3,000 fans. The Utes will have locker rooms, coaches' offices, medical spaces, equipment storage, indoor batting/pitching cages and a press box all on-site. Fans will enjoy a variety of amenities and will be close up to the action with a spectacular backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains.
On May 16, the team was joined by the construction crew and some supporters to take part in the topping out ceremony for Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark. A tradition in construction, everyone signed the final steel beam before it was raised into place to mark the completion of the structural phase of the project.
Photos by Sophia Kuder, Anna Fuder, Brad Lapp and Kory Mortensen. Newspaper clipping courtesy Utah Digital Newspapers/J. Willard Marriott Library.
