Kevan Smith is back in baseball — and coming back to Pullman Park.

The 2006 Seneca Valley graduate, who played a few games in Butler during his prep career, has officially signed on with the Butler BlueSox of the Prospect League.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound catcher only hopes his stay in Butler is a brief one.

"We know there's a chance he'll be drafted and we'll lose him," BlueSox general manager Leo Trich said. "That'd be OK. We'd be happy for him.

"Even if it's for a short time, this kid gives us a tremendous bat and great defense behind the plate. He'll see time at designated hitter when he's not catching."

Smith was a standout catcher at Seneca Valley and a major league draft prospect back then. He was named WPIAL Class AAAA Player of the Year his senior season.

When word got around that Smith was accepting a scholarship to play quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh, the baseball scouts backed off. He wasn't selected until the latter stages of the draft and opted for football.

"I was given an opportunity at Pitt and I took it," Smith said. "A scholarship and a chance to play Division I football was something I couldn't pass up at the time.

"It's funny, but I always thought baseball was my best sport. I always felt like I could go back to baseball."

After starting a handful of games for the Pitt football team before becoming a backup, Smith did return to the diamond.

He played spring football for the Panthers in 2008. He played spring baseball for the Panthers this year, finishing second on the team with a .363 batting average, collecting three homers and 21 RBI to go with a .540 slugging percentage.

Smith committed only one error behind the plate and had 10 assists.

"I hadn't swung a bat or played in a baseball game in three years," Smith said. "I was surprised it came back to me so quickly, especially at that level."

Smith will graduate from Pitt with a marketing degree in the spring of 2010. Baseball's amateur draft is June 7-9. His stay with the BlueSox hinges on the result of that draft.

"I'll be playing summer baseball somewhere," Smith said. "If it's in Butler all summer, I'm fine with that. I've heard great things about the Prospect League and what they've done with Pullman Park.

"I was thinking about playing in the Cape Cod League, but this gives me a chance to play close to home and a good friend of mine, Zach Duggan, will also be playing there. It'll be fun."

Duggan, also a Seneca Valley graduate, is an outfielder at Pitt. He hit .270 with seven doubles and stoe eight bases in 10 tries for the Panthers last spring.

If Smith isn't drafted or doesn't come to terms with the team that selects him, he plans on attending graduate school next year.

"I'll see how it all plays out," he said. "In the meantime, I've set goals for myself. I'd love to hit .400 next spring and lead my team to the Big East championship."

If Smith's tenure in Butler is short, the BlueSox are prepared.

The team has two other catchers on the roster, including 6-3, 215-pound John Sulzicki from the University of Connecticut and Tyler Finley, a California resident attending a small college in the Golden State.

"We got caught a little short at the catching position going down the stretch last year," Trich admitted. "We've learned from that. We're in much better shape behind the plate now.

"Kevan Smith gives us a legitimate big league prospect to begin the season with and he's a Western Pennsylvania guy to boot. We're very excited to get him."