UC Santa Barbara
2017 Daily Nexus UCSB Male Freshman of the Year
2018: One of three players to play in 50 games for the Gauchos during his sophomore campaign in 2018…Started 24 games at first base, nine in left field and 11 in right field…Hit .224 (37-for-165) with an on-base percentage of .293 and a .382 slugging percentage…Tied for second on the team with five homeruns while driving in 29 runs…Scored 21 runs himself and walked 11 times…Hit seven doubles and two triples…Third on the team with 165 total at-bats…Batted. 289 (22-for-76) in his 25 games played in the outfield with a .447 slugging percentage…Tallied nine multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games…Went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs in a 4-3 win over Hawai’i on May 24…Went 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs to highlight a 10-2 win over Sacramento State (Mar. 17)…Had four games with three RBIs…Went 2-for-4 with a homerun and three RBIs in a 15-5 win over Dartmouth on Mar. 14…Gauchos went 4-1 in games that Smith homered in.
2017: Burst onto the scene with a solid true freshman season, slashing .285/.328/.397 over 49 games (45 starts) ... Had nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 24 RBIs in 179 at-bats ... Was named the department-wide Male Freshman of the Year by the Daily Nexus, UCSB's student paper ... Earned the starting right field spot by seasons' end (36 starts), but also drew starts at second base (five) and left field (four) ... Hit in every spot in the lineup except leadoff and cleanup, making the most appearances in the three-hole (17) ... On the team, tied for second in doubles and was third in runs (32), T-fourth in RBIs, and fifth in batting average ... Had 12 two-out RBIs, third-most on the team ... Ranked second on the team with 18 multi-hit games and fourth with five multi-RBI games ... Broke out in March with a .413 batting average and .587 slugging percentage including a stretch that saw him record multiple hits in seven of nine games from Mar. 4-25 ... Notched his first career hit on Mar. 4 at Kentucky, laying a bunt single down the third base line before stroking an RBI double into left his next at-bat ... Top performance of the year came on May 5 against UC Davis, as he went 2-3 with a double, home run, and season-high four RBIs ... Hit a go-ahead home run to dead center at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium against Long Beach State on Mar. 31, an eventual 3-2 UCSB win ... Had a trio of three-hit games ... Spent the summer with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots of the Alaska League, where he batted .207 with 14 RBIs in 30 games.
De La Salle High School (2012-16): Played two varsity seasons at De La Salle High School under head coach David Jeans ... After his senior year was selected in the 35th round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians ... Played shortstop for the Spartans ... Was teammates with Gaucho Michael McAdoo ... In 2016, helped De La Salle to the CIF North Coast Section Championship on top of an EBAL League Championship ... Was named a Louisville Slugger All-American after batting .406 with 10 stolen bases and just three strikeouts ... Played in the 2015 Area Code games ... Was voted as the NCS Most Valuable Player after his senior season ... Also named All-EBAL First Team ... Made the postseason in both of his years on the varsity squad ...
Personal: Armani Christopher Smith was born on Jul. 19, 1998 to parents Amber Garcia and Chris Smith in Walnut Creek, Calif. ... Has a younger brother, Amare, and a younger sister, Cymani ... Goes by the nickname "Mani" ... Plans on majoring in sociology ... Aspires to play major league baseball or own his own business ... Roots for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Raiders ... Lists getting selected in the 2016 MLB draft (by Cleveland, 35th round) as his most memorable pre-UCSB sporting moment ... Calls hitting his first collegiate home run – a solo shot to dead center against Long Beach State ace Darren McCaughan on Mar. 31, 2017 – as his favorite sporting moment at UCSB ... Listens to Future, Drake, and Lil Uzi ... Likes to go fishing in his free time ... Favorite movies include Coming to America and Friday ... His favorite athletes include Odell Beckham Jr., Adam Jones, and Lebron James ... Enjoys watching Prison Break.
