Louisville catcher Will Smith became the third Cardinal player selected in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft when he was picked 32nd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday night.
Smith, a Louisville product who played his high school ball at Kentucky Country Day, has had a breakout junior season that has resulted in him skyrocketing up mock draft boards in recent weeks. He enters this weekend's super regional series hitting .380 (tied for the best on the team) with seven home runs and 45 RBI.
A junior, Smith entered the season off the radar of pretty much every Major League scout in the country. However, as those same scouts started looking more closely at teammates like Corey Ray and Zack Burdi, they noticed a gem behind the plate.
Smith has a .997 fielding percentage and has thrown out 12 of the 26 players who have tried to steal against him this season. He was a third team All-ACC selection, and is now the third-highest pick in the history of Cardinal baseball.
He's also a perfect mixture of Kyle Kuric and Will Garnder, which demands to be pointed out here.
Congrats to Will.