Major: History
Hometown: Moraga, CA
Career Highlights: Two-year letter winner for Baseball;Â 2017 1st Team All-WCC; 2017 Dante Benedetti Award
Biography: Smoot played baseball for two years, and was a first team All-West Coast Conference player for the Dons during his USF career. He finished his time on The Hilltop with top-10 program marks in career batting average and on-base percentage. His 39 walks drawn during his senior season of 2017 were seventh-most in a single season at USF, and he ranked second in the WCC with a .364 batting average, while earning first team All-WCC honors. Smoot also ranked second in the conference with a .470 on base percentage as a senior, which ranked as the eighth-best in program history, and was second on the team with 39 RBIs. As a junior, Smoot was second on the team with a .321 batting average, and led the team with 14 doubles and 33 RBIs. He finished his career with a .345 batting average, which ranks seventh in program history.Â
Why Smoot Chose USF: "I chose USF because my dad went there. I have a lot of memories of coming out to the alumni games when I was a kid. I remember how close all the guys my dad played with are. It was always a super fun family type atmosphere. I also remember playing as USF with Scott Cousins and Aaron Poreda in the '05 MVP Baseball video game. I always wanted to be a Don."
Favorite USF Memories: "A couple of my favorite memories were hitting before class with Michael Perri and Dom Miroglio. Another fond memory was hanging out with my roommates and teammates outside of baseball."
The USF Student-Athlete Experience: "I remember meeting a lot of great teammates/coaches, lifting early with Coach Leach, building relationships with my professors, and representing USF on the baseball field."
Did You Know?: Smoot's dad Al also played baseball on the Hilltop, graduating in 1981. Smoot earned the Dante Benedetti Award (Team MVP) in 2017, just as his father, Al, had done 36 years before.Â
Life After USF: After graduation, Smoot was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft. He played a year of professional baseball in the Rays' minor league system, where he continued his propensity for getting on base, hitting .352 during his rookie campaign. Smoot returned to the Hilltop as the director of baseball operations in 2018-2019, and is currently an Assistant Coach for the Green and Gold baseball team under Nino Giarratano.Â
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