STARKVILLE — Milton Smith, Jr. is trying to make a name for himself.
His father, Milton Smith, Sr., played at Starkville High school where he won the first state championship in football for the school in 1984 and a baseball state championship in 1986. The Smiths moved from Laurel to Starkville this summer when Smith, Sr. was hired as the new athletic director at Starkville High School.
While at Laurel, the left-handed outfielder Smith, Jr. began to establish himself as a baseball prospect. Even after the move to Starkville, that reputation hasn’t been hurt. He signed a baseball scholarship offer with Meridian Community College Friday morning.
“I liked the vibe, the coach welcomed me and it just feels like the right place to go,” Smith, Jr. said. “(It’s) a big step. I needed someone to believe in me and trust in me with my talents.”
Smith, Jr. has already begun to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a Yellow Jacket. He took another step this fall as he played wide receiver for the Yellow Jacket football team and helped them win the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State championship over Petal High School.
Although Smith, Sr. hasn’t been overbearing or pushing his son into a situation he wasn’t comfortable with, he’s glad to see his son in the “black and gold.”
The elder Smith is as happy as anyone to see his son get a chance to play baseball at the next level.
“I’m really proud,” Smith, Sr. said. “We’ve talked about things he wanted to do with his life and this is one of his dreams to play college baseball and hopefully professional one day. I’m really proud of him for really working hard and accomplishing one of his goals.”
Smith, Jr. said he sought his father’s advice because he had been through the recruiting process and played a sport at the next level. Smith, Sr. played defensive back at Mississippi State from 1986-89.
Smith, Sr. said they sat down last year and made a plan to get Smith, Jr. to a college to play baseball. But Smith, Sr. was just happy to be a part of the process with his son.
“(I was) just doing what a daddy does,” Smith, Sr. said. “I took him to the recruiting visits and talked to the coach. But it was really his choice. I told him, ‘If you feel comfortable in whatever you do, I’m going to support you 100 percent.’ I just follow his lead.”
Jacket coach Travis Garner has yet to coach Smith, Jr. as a member of the Starkville baseball team, but has coached him in all star games and in four games this past summer. Although he doesn’t have a good grasp of what Smith, Jr.’s game is all about, he has already been impressed by his speed.
“He’s the kind of player that should be a lot of fun to watch,” Garner said. “Fastest player I’ve ever coached, can really, really run. Should just fit in just fine. It kind of filled the need right off the bat.”
Smith, Jr. began to be recruited by Meridian Community College while he was in the 10th grade. He also had interest from Division I programs Jackson State and Alabama state and junior college Northeast Mississippi Community College.
While he could have played Division I baseball, that’s not his ultimate goal. Smith, Jr. wants to play professional baseball and that was one of the biggest reasons he chose Meridian.
“I just thought it was the best fit and where I’m trying to go,” Smith, Jr. said. “If I go to a four year, I’ll have to do three years, so that’s why I picked Meridian.”
He’ll be draft eligible after just two years at Meridian, versus three years if he would have gone the Division I route.
Garner believes Smith, Jr. has a good chance of playing professional baseball. He’s always been taught that there are two things you can’t teach: foot speed and arm strength.
“Well he’s got one of the two things that you can’t teach and it’s elite,” Garner said. “He can really, really run. We’ve got get him on base and turn him loose and he should be a lot of fun to watch.”
Garner said if Smith, Jr. has two good years at Meridian, other doors will open for him.
Smith, Sr. said his son needs to work to get a little bigger and have better arm strength. Even so, he still thinks Smith Jr. will have a chance to play professional baseball.
Smith, Jr. wasn’t shy talking about playing professional baseball, something his father is glad to hear.
“If you don’t set goals for yourself, you’ll wind up spinning your wheels and going around in circles,” Smith, Sr. said. “If you set high goals, even if you don’t make them, you’ll hit higher than what you ever thought you would hit.”
Smith, Sr. may have played football at the college level, but he never played professional football. Smith, Jr. wants to not only play professional baseball, but have his name remembered forever as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I want to make it to Cooperstown,” Smith, Jr. said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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