Florida commit Grayson Smith 鈥榖attle-ready鈥� for next level
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – To make it as a pitcher at the collegiate level, you must bring a certain type of vigor to the mound. This is something Grayson Smith has. It鈥檚 something he鈥檚 had since he was five years old, when he would yell at his basketball teammates for not dribbling.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been an intense dude,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淕rowing up, my mom and my dad would have to reign that in.鈥�
The high school junior at McCallie High in Chattanooga, Tennessee still relies on that mentality every start, which is part of what makes him appealing to the coaching staff at the University of Florida.
鈥淚n pitching, you get seven innings in and you鈥檙e on your 105th pitch,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 maintain the intensity from pitch one, you鈥檙e not going to make it.鈥�
The primary source of Smith鈥檚 competitive edge comes from his grandfather, who was so determined to play everyday, that he would hitchhike to the baseball field and back when he was a kid. He鈥檚 helped coach Grayson every step of the way.
鈥淗e鈥檇 stay until the lights came on and you鈥檇 hit ’till you鈥檇 have blisters on your hands,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淗e鈥檒l throw until you鈥檙e done.鈥�
While his grandfather can still throw some pretty good batting practice, he can鈥檛 quite match the heat that his grandson can throw. Grayson has a repertoire of a low 90s fastball, an 11/5 curveball and a developing changeup.
Once Smith started to play more travel ball to gear up for high school, he received his first recruiting encounter with a phone call from the coaching staff at Penn State.
鈥淚 remember setting alarms to make sure I got the call at the right time,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎fter that, I thought maybe this is the real thing. And that was exciting because that has been the goal since I started playing.鈥�
While the recruiting process is always enjoyable, it is typically stressful as well. So it is a bit of a relief for Smith to be done with it and be committed to a school like Florida.
鈥淵ou look at the guys that go into Florida and the guys that come out of Florida and it just looks like they are battle-ready dudes,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淔lorida is a step to the next place.鈥�
Before Smith heads to Gainesville, he still has two more years in Chattanooga. He is just one piece of a special 2023 class at McCallie, along with Hudson Calhoun, an Ole Miss commit, and Olin Johnson, a Washington State commit.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淲e just ran into a bunch of talent in this class and in the class in front of us, we have a lot of dudes that can really go out and ball.鈥�
Despite already earning the chance to play baseball for the Gators, Smith is not one to cruise and wants the best for himself and his team.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 earn my parents being able to send me to McCallie, I didn鈥檛 earn the ability to throw hard,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淢y thought process is I was given all of these things, so I might as well do all I can to take advantage.鈥�
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