Grant Smith Named to Brooks Wallace Watch List

Grant Smith has been named to the 2023 Brooks Wallace Award watch list, given to Division I’s top shortstop, the College Baseball Foundation announced. The award honors outstanding defensive play as much as it does production at the plate.

Smith, a senior from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been a revelation in his first season at Kentucky after transferring from the University of Incarnate Word. Tasked with the unenviable task of replacing 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove winner Ryan Ritter, Smith has proven more than up to the task.

Smith has just two errors in 153 chances, good for a .987 fielding percentage. He has started all 152 games of his collegiate career and this season is batting .283 in 120 at bats with 22 runs, 19 RBI, four doubles, three home runs, nine walks, seven hit by pitch and one steal. He also has eight bunts for base hits.