WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An effective campaign on the mound in which he registered 22 strikeouts vs. 12 hits allowed coupled with his 3.62 grade-point average as agribusiness major has earned Purdue baseball's Jackson Smeltz Academic All-District honors.
Smeltz was one of two pitchers and 11 total players voted onto the Academic All-District Team from District Five, which features universities based in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. He advances to the national ballot from which the Academic All-America teams are selected.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) nominate and select the Academic All-District and Academic All-America teams. To be eligible for the All-District ballot, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.30 GPA and be at least a sophomore academically.
Smeltz is the program's first Academic All-District honoree since Joe Haase in 2012, the same year Haase won Big Ten Pitcher of the Year as the ace of Purdue's conference championship team.
Smeltz was also recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar on Thursday, recognizing him for compiling a 3.7-plus GPA during the 2020-21 school year. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree pitched in 13 games this season, emerging as one of the Boilermakers' top relief pitchers. The lefty limited opposing hitters to a .186 batting average, giving up only four extra-base hits in 19 1/3 innings. He was the winning pitcher in all three of Purdue's walk-off victories.
Smeltz's GPA ranks as the best among the pitching staff. He also attracted the attention of pro scouts this spring.
In June, Smeltz became the ninth Purdue student-athlete to be recognized with the Brady Comeback Scholarship Award by Methodist Sports Medicine. He has overcome multiple surgeries dating back to the age of 13. As an early adolescent, he had surgery to remove a noncancerous brain tumor. After a breakout freshman season in the spring of 2015 at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, he had Tommy John Surgery in his left elbow. He only pitched briefly again in high school but still contributed as a position player, leading the team in batting average as a sophomore and earning team MVP honors as a junior.
After Smeltz finally returned to the mound in February 2020 as a redshirt freshman at Purdue, debuting as a starting pitcher during the season-opening weekend, the season was shut down due to the pandemic. He had also injured the labrum in his right hip, requiring another surgery. Both the procedure and rehab were delayed by the pandemic.
But Smeltz overcame it all to enjoy a breakout season during his third year as a Boilermaker. If the draft-eligible lefty returns for the 2021-22 school year, he projects as the team's top high-leverage reliever or closer.
Smeltz was one of two pitchers and 11 total players voted onto the Academic All-District Team from District Five, which features universities based in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. He advances to the national ballot from which the Academic All-America teams are selected.
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) nominate and select the Academic All-District and Academic All-America teams. To be eligible for the All-District ballot, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.30 GPA and be at least a sophomore academically.
Smeltz is the program's first Academic All-District honoree since Joe Haase in 2012, the same year Haase won Big Ten Pitcher of the Year as the ace of Purdue's conference championship team.
Smeltz was also recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar on Thursday, recognizing him for compiling a 3.7-plus GPA during the 2020-21 school year. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree pitched in 13 games this season, emerging as one of the Boilermakers' top relief pitchers. The lefty limited opposing hitters to a .186 batting average, giving up only four extra-base hits in 19 1/3 innings. He was the winning pitcher in all three of Purdue's walk-off victories.
Smeltz's GPA ranks as the best among the pitching staff. He also attracted the attention of pro scouts this spring.
In June, Smeltz became the ninth Purdue student-athlete to be recognized with the Brady Comeback Scholarship Award by Methodist Sports Medicine. He has overcome multiple surgeries dating back to the age of 13. As an early adolescent, he had surgery to remove a noncancerous brain tumor. After a breakout freshman season in the spring of 2015 at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, he had Tommy John Surgery in his left elbow. He only pitched briefly again in high school but still contributed as a position player, leading the team in batting average as a sophomore and earning team MVP honors as a junior.
After Smeltz finally returned to the mound in February 2020 as a redshirt freshman at Purdue, debuting as a starting pitcher during the season-opening weekend, the season was shut down due to the pandemic. He had also injured the labrum in his right hip, requiring another surgery. Both the procedure and rehab were delayed by the pandemic.
But Smeltz overcame it all to enjoy a breakout season during his third year as a Boilermaker. If the draft-eligible lefty returns for the 2021-22 school year, he projects as the team's top high-leverage reliever or closer.