Kolten Smith isn’t worried about labels. That includes any suggestion that he should carry the title of staff ace into the season, which begins in less than two weeks at UNC-Wilmington.
That’s not quite the way he’s looking at it.
“I mean, I feel in my mind that I try and be the best pitcher that I can be on that day,” Smith said. “We've got a lot of talent on the staff, so I wouldn't really consider myself the ace of our team.”
Bulldog skipper Wes Johnson would just as soon he didn’t.
After all, the Bulldogs also have fellow junior Leighton Finley ready to help Smith anchor Georgia’s weekend rotation. There’s also the fact that Johnson took care to fortify the Bulldogs’ pitching staff with a bevy of quality arms. Smith won’t have to feel like the team’s overall pitching success falls solely on him.
“As you know in our league, if you get that label put on you, a lot of pressure comes with it. That target on your back is really, really big,” Johnson said. “Teams are going to come after you. They're going to have a really good plan. They're going to study you up and down. Colton has the mental capacity for that. Time will tell.”
Smith showed last year that when he’s on, there aren’t too many better in the SEC.
In 69.2 innings, Smith’s swing-and-miss ratio was one of the best in the league (105 strikeouts, 20 walks). With a fastball that reaches 95 mph, a nasty cutter, improving sweeper, changeup, and curve, his five-pitch arsenal is capable of giving any opposing hitter fits.
“I'm just going to try and raise my floor and not raise my ceiling,” Smith said. “I just want to be more consistent and have more focus.”
Still, he knows expectations were there. Not just for him but for the entire Bulldog team.
After falling one game shy of a trip to Omaha, Smith isn’t shy about where he expects this team to be playing come June.
“Yeah, that's our end goal,” Smith said. “That's where we're going to go.”
Smith believes this year’s staff has the talent and depth to make that happen.
“It's so much depth. I don't want to take any credit away from any of the guys last year. We had a great team, but this year we just have a lot of depth and a lot of hard talent,” Smith said. “I want to say we've had maybe 18, 20 guys up to 95 (mph) already, but we've got that with command and other great pitches.”
Smith – who missed the fall recovering from hernia surgery – spent the summer playing for Team USA.
“My biggest takeaway from that was just getting to surround yourself with guys that have the same goals, to make it to the Major Leagues and play as long as you can,” Smith said. “Playing with that level of talent and talking to those guys, picking their brains was really mind-opening.”
Smith also took time during the summer to sharpen his own brain.
“I worked with my mental strength coach, sharpening all the mental strength things on that side, getting a little bit bigger, stronger, increasing my offensive speed,” said Smith, who explained having the presence of mind is a must if one hopes to have a presence on the mound.
“Wes talks about it all the time, that to win, you have to have focus for increased periods of time,” Smith said. “If you don't have the focus for an intense amount of longevity, then it's really hard to be great in the sport. So, it’s really about sharpening your brain on how to constantly be successful.”
