Julian Smith, who won eight games this season for Catawba Valley Community College and was drafted this month by the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been selected a third-team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Associaiton (NJCAA). CVCC has had an All-American selected in seven straight seasons./CODY DALTON-CVCC PHOTO
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – For the seventh year in a row, a Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) baseball player has earned All-American status.
Sophomore pitcher Julian Smith, from Concord, has been named a third-team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). He’s the first pitcher in CVCC baseball history to be chosen as an All-American.
“It’s a great feeling being mentioned with other good players from around the country,” Smith said in a CVCC press release. “Just like everything else this is a reflection of all the hard work that we put in leading up to the season, and I wouldn’t be here without the help and support of my teammates.”
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Smith, a 6-foot-4, 192-pound left-hander.
On June 3 — just two days after turning 21 – he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round (464th overall) of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, becoming the first Red Hawks player drafted directly from the CVCC roster.
After sitting out all of the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery, Smith bounced back in a big way this past spring.
In 14 appearances, he went 8-2 record with a 2.51 ERA in 79 innings pitched. He gave up 51 hits, 29 runs (22 earned), 32 walks and struck out a single-season program record 130.
An N.C. State signee, Smith set a school record for career strikeouts (181), and he tied the school’s single-season records for wins (8), which he shares with Georgia Southern standout Cole Whitney (2017).
“I’m very proud of Julian,” said CVCC head baseball coach Paul Rozzelle. “This is yet another special accolade for that young man, and it’s well deserved. This All-American honor is a testament to all of the hard work he’s put in here and the obstacles that he’s overcome during his career.
“It’s very nice to have our first All-American pitcher, and that’s all due to the hard work of our pitching coach Kris Harvey and the remarkable job he’s done our pitching staff.”
Smith joins Chandler Jenkins (2016-17), Ty Andrus (2015-16), Danny Sullivan (2014-15), Bryson Bowman (2013-14), Ryan Smith (2012-13) and Danny Fraga (2011-12) as CVCC players named an NJCAA All-American.
CVCC BASEBALL ALL-AMERICANS
2017-18: Julian Smith, P
2016-17: Chandler Jenkins, OF
2015-16: Ty Andrus, OF
2014-15: Danny Sullivan, 3B
2013-14: Bryson Bowman, OF
2012-13: Ryan Smith, INF
2011-12: Danny Fraga, INF
— Reported by CVCC Sports Information