That said, Smith is excited about being part of the Shockers’ rebuild.

“I feel like I’m walking into a great rebuilding program to go play and win a regional,” Smith said.

This spring, Smith had a memorable season for Van Buren, compiling an earned-run average of 0.34 and striking out 58 batters in 41 innings on the mound. He allowed just two earned runs for the spring.

One of Smith’s best performances came in the Class 2 District 2 championship game on May 20, when Smith struck out 11 batters in a two-hit shutout of East Carter.

“I feel like high school ball is where I come back to and I bond with the kids I grew up with,” Smith said. “We’ve had a very special chemistry at Van Buren. We’ve had great success here too with that chemistry, so it’s been a really fun ride these past three years of my high school career.”

Athletics is in Smith’s DNA. His mother, the former Erika Emmons, was a key player on the Poplar Bluff Lady Mules’ 1999-2000 state runner-up basketball team before playing two years of women’s college basketball at Three Rivers. Meanwhile, Smith’s father, Brad, played high school basketball at East Carter in the late 1990s and 2000.

“I’m just carrying on a legacy,” Smith said. “(My mom) always reminds me that she’s always better than me every single day. We know that’s probably not true anymore, but we love just staying competitive in the family and keeping a competitive taste in the family.”

As he heads into his senior season, Smith wants to have a season to remember, including repeating as an all-state selection and winning the Semoball Baseball Athlete of the Year Award, which he was a finalist for as a junior.

However, Smith will be striving for those honors at a new school, as he will be at East Carter when school starts later this month.

“It’s my dad’s alma mater,” Smith said. That’s where he went to school at. They (also have) a four-day school week, plus a lot of my younger brother’s friends are over there. He wanted to change and go be with a lot of his friends for his (own) high school career. And my mother took a job over there, and I just wanted to follow them, be with my family and go compete over there.”