Hagen Smith talks about being taken by White Sox with MLB Draft’s fifth pick

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas ace pitcher Hagen Smith was invited to the Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday night in Fort Worth, but the Texas native decided to enjoy the moment with his family and friends in his hometown of Bullard.

So he got the chance to celebrate with them immediately when he was taken by the Chicago White Sox with the fifth overall pick of what it is a three-day event a the Cowtown Coliseum.

Smith, whose slot value is just under $7.8 million, becomes the highest rated Razorback pitcher of all time and the first Arkansas player taken in the first round since current Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad was taken second overall by the Orioles in 2020.

“I was kind of in shock, honestly,” Smith on Sunday night zoom with media. “You dream about it growing up. Especially in college, that’s the goal, to be drafted in the first round, for a bunch of my friends and I. Just hearing my name be called was kind of surreal, honestly.”

Smith (9-2, 2.04 ERA), was named the College Pitcher of the Year by several publications and was the second full-time pitcher taken in the draft following Cincinnati selecting Wake Forest’s Chase Burns.

“I feel like I was one of the better pitchers in the draft going into it,” Smith said. “I feel like I’ve put in a lot of hard work to be that way.”

Chicago chose to take Smith over Florida first baseman/pitcher Jac Caglianone, who was then taken sixth by Kansas City.

“I met with them one time before the draft, maybe two or three weeks ago in Omaha, actually ” Smith said. “Really I loved everything they were saying, really loved everything they were talking about (in regards to) the program and the city.”

White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley lauded Smith in a press release.

“Hagen’s many accomplishments are incredibly impressive and certainly speak for themselves,” Shirley said in a statement. “Despite all of his success, I was struck most throughout the scouting process by his humility. We believe Hagen can be a foundational piece to what we are building in our organization in the years to come.”

The White Sox drafted left handers Chris Sale – a multi-time all startnow with Atlanta – and current star hurler Garett Crochet.

“We have something of a special history drafting and developing left-handed pitchers, and we envision Hagen being the latest in that line to deliver a powerful impact at the major-league level.”

Smith was asked about some of the reasons for his success this past season.

“Just having a good group of guys around me and a good coaching staff at Arkansas,” Smith said. “It’s one of the top programs for a reason. The coaches do a tremendous job of preparing you and developing you.

“Being around high-level talent day in and day out, especially with this special group this past year. As a pitching staff, in general, everybody wants to get better every single day, and I feel like weall pushed each other every single day, even in practice. That kind of brought the best out of everybody.”

Per an Arkansas press release, Smith is Arkansas’ third top-five overall draft selection and fifth top-10 overall draft pick in history, joining infielder Jeff King (1st overall, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1986), Kjerstad (2020), infielder Kevin McReynolds (6th overall, San Diego Padres, 1981) and outfielder Andrew Benintendi (7th overall, Boston Red Sox, 2015).

Smith is the fourth Razorback pitcher to be selected in the first round, joining right-hander David Walling (27th overall, New York Yankees, 1999), Nick Schmidt (2007) and Ryne Stanek (2013).

He is the 260th overall MLB draft selection in Arkansas history and the 137th overall MLB draft pick in the Dave Van Horn era.

Smith is also the 20th overall Razorback pitcher selected and the 15th Razorback pitcher taken in the first 10 rounds of the draft since 2019, Matt Hobbs’ first season as pitching coach.

In that span, Arkansas has had more pitchers selected in the MLB draft (20) than any program in the country, including a nation-leading 15 pitchers taken in the first 10 rounds.

Image courtesy of Razorbacks Communications