June 18, 2008

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina junior first baseman Justin Smoak has earned first team All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). With the selection, Smoak is a consensus first team All-America choice for 2008. Smoak also received first team accolades from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Rivals.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Smoak was the No. 11 overall pick by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the MLB Draft on June 5, 2008.

Smoak was Carolina’s leading hitter this season with a .383 batting average (90-for-235) to go along with 23 homers and 72 RBI. For the second consecutive year, Smoak was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award presented by USA Baseball and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy presented by the NCBWA to the top college baseball player in the nation.

In his three-year career at Carolina, Smoak set school records for home runs (62), runs batted in (207), bases on balls (151) and total bases (485). He is fifth on the SEC Career list for home runs and is of only seven players in SEC history to record 60 or more round trippers. Smoak twice earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the NCAA Regionals, receiving the distinction this year in Raleigh and last season in Columbia. He started every game at first base for three straight years with 194 consecutive starts on the corner. Smoak played on three NCAA Regional teams and twice made it to the NCAA Super Regional.