Courtesy Hawk Nation –
Tyler Smith made it official Wednesday afternoon.
Surrounded by family, friends and his South Side teammates gathered on the school’s baseball field, Smith signed to continue his academic and baseball careers at the University of South Alabama.
“I want to thank all y’all for being here,” Smith said. “I want to thank my teammates and my coaches. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.”
Smith then took a deep breath to maintain his composure.
“It’s a big day,” he said as he clicked the pen and officially signed to become a South Alabama Jaguar.
The 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher had verbally committed to the Mobile-based school in August.
Family in attendance included parents Becky and JD Smith, sister Olivia Smith and grandparents Brenda Smith and Russell and Pamela Coleman.
South Alabama went 36-22 this past season, including a 15-9 record in the Sun Belt Conference.
Smith – who completed the 2020 season with a 6-1 record – 1.4 earned run average with 85 strikeouts – plans to major in a field that concentrates on sports analytics or statistics.
South Side baseball coach Jeff Wyatt addressed the crowd prior to the signing.
“Three years ago when Tyler arrived here at South Side, we knew this was going to be a possibility,” Wyatt said. “At that point, we didn’t know what level of college Tyler was going to be able to sign with. It was going to come down to his work ethic and him getting the job done in the classroom. Tyler did everything like a Division I athlete is supposed to do, and that’s why today is possible. Tyler is going to a Division I program that’s one of the top programs, in my opinion, in this area, because he has the work ethic and he was blessed with unbelievable talent. I know Tyler, from the moment he steps foot on campus, he’s going to be able to make an immediate impact on that program. We’re proud of him and thankful that we still have one more season with him.”
Last season’s District 14-AA pitcher of the year, Smith began playing T-ball at Malesus when he was four or five years old. He’s come a long way since that first season playing with Delta Electric.
Starting with 7U, Smith and a group of Malesus all-stars formed a Rage Baseball team that he played with every season until high school. Since his freshman year, Smith has played with Easley Baseball Club. He’s spent the summer playing for the 16U Gentry team.
“We played a lot in Atlanta, Hoover and Memphis,” Smith previously told Hawk Nation. “Every weekend we were playing in a tournament. I had great teammates. It was an awesome summer and a busy summer, but I loved every moment of it.”
(PHOTO: Tyler Smith, South Side High School)
