Baseball: Edward Little senior Drew Smith officially signs NLI to UConn
The Red Eddies pitcher put pen to paper throughout a ceremony in the library of the brand-new high school.
AUBURN– Edward Little senior Drew Smith knew he wished to play Division I baseball since he started T-ball at 4 years old. On Thursday, his dreams became a reality when he signed his National Letter of Intent to play baseball at the University of Connecticut throughout a ceremony in the Edward Little High School library.
” It’s a dream come to life,” Smith stated. “However, back to work tomorrow and on with the next dream.”
He officially accepted UConn’s offer in July 2022, while also navigating the Big league Baseball draft process. Smith said he chose to focus on getting an education and hopes an expert career can be a choice after college graduation.
Smith’s daddy, Ryan Smith, played at the University of Maine, and was fundamental in assisting Drew browse his potential college profession.
” I’ve constantly had the imagine playing D1, and then the summertime after my freshman year of high school, it kind of became real when I got the very first deal,” Drew Smith said. “It was quite unbelievable.”
Smith explained that he didn’t get many main deals– “schools do not offer you unless you tell them that you want the deal right now, they say ‘We’ll give you an offer when you’re ready,'” he stated– which he dedicated to UConn “really early.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior has been a factor for Edward Little given that his freshman season, when he came on strong toward completion of that first project.
He set out 14 batters in 18 2/3 innings in 2021, then caught 67 punchouts in 42 frames while sporting a 3.66 earned-run average and 4-2 record in 2022. Last year, he lowered his period to 2.97 to support 68 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.
For the Red Eddies, he’s a top pitcher, but also plays very first base, third base and ideal field. At UConn, he stated he expects to complete for a spot, however visualizes beginning as a relief pitcher.
” Wherever I fit best and wherever they need me, I’m a huge do-it-for-the-team (guy), but I’ll simply work as hard as I can to compete every day,” Smith said.
Edward Little Athletic Director Todd Sampson noted how effective Smith has actually been in his high school profession so far, and stated the most remarkable quality has actually been how modest he is, particularly when signing to such a competitive Division-I program.
” Drew’s worked exceptionally hard,” Sampson said. “His dedication and his psychological durability to stick with it, and one of the things I really appreciate about Drew is both his capability to play other sports (football and hockey) while he’s been able to excel in baseball, however also how modest he is. He doesn’t walk this building telling everyone how fantastic he is, he lets that come out on the baseball field.”
Red Eddies coach Dave Jordan credits Smith’s parents, Tanya and Ryan, for supporting Drew to keep pursuing baseball, however also while training him through the youth levels.
“( Drew) just really caught fire in terms of his enthusiasm for the video game and understanding there were some things that he had to do to kind of maximize his capacity,” Jordan stated. “So many gamers, you don’t see that, they don’t have that consistency and grind to do that.”
Jordan called Smith an “remarkable” and “off-the-charts gamer” for the Red Eddies, in regards to his work principles and focus to the game. He also stated Smith is the “hardest-working baseball player” that he’s coached considering that he concerned Edward Little in 2015.
” He’s an extremely colleague, his pals enjoy to have him around and he is encouraging,” Jordan said. “He just leads by example.”
If Jordan had to utilize one word to explain Smith, it would be relentless.
Sampson also kept in mind how outstanding the UConn dedication is for Smith, as the Huskies’ competitive program is typically battling to make it to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, every year.
” Yes, it’s a Division-I scholarship, however it’s a Division-I scholarship to one of the best programs in the country,” Sampson stated. “They’re constantly defending conference championships, always coming down to the last pitch whether they’re going to make it to Omaha, to the College World Series. So, I understand how happy I am of Drew, and I can’t envision how happy his household is.”
Entering into his senior season, Smith stated he wants to return to the Class A state championship, like the group did in 2015, beating Bangor 10-6 to win the Class A North championship. The Red Eddies fell one win except the program’s very first state championship considering that 1992 in a 5-0 loss to South Portland in the Class A last.
” This year, primary objective is to make it back to the state champion and take what’s ours,” Smith said. “But really, to simply assist have a good time with my teammates and help them get better. They’re going to assist me get better and have a terrific season and compete.”
Smith has actually played with a lot of his Red Eddies colleagues given that he was young, and he stated that’s what he’ll miss out on when he heads to the next level in Storrs, Connecticut.
” In high school, you’re with your buddies that you matured with and you’re playing baseball, however when you get to college you satisfy new individuals,” Smith said. “I have actually been playing baseball with a great deal of these kids for a long time in every sport that I’ve done, so it’s been fun.”
