Bypassed by Major League Baseball's amateur draft this week, Kevan Smith will remain with the Butler BlueSox for the remainder of the summer.

The Seneca Valley graduate and University of Pittsburgh catcher was projected to go between the 10th and 15th rounds. The 50-round draft ended Wednesday.

"I had conversations with a lot of scouts weeks before the draft and that's where they had me slotted," Smith said. "We talked money, too, and I wanted more than the figures they were talking about.

"I guess I wound up being too expensive. It didn't work out, but I still have options."

Smith, who batted .361 with five homers and 46 RBI for the Panthers and had nine hits in 12 at-bats during the Big East Tournament, said he now falls into the draft-and-follow category and is eligible to sign as a free agent at the end of summer.

"I would only do that if it was for the money I wanted originally," he said. "That's an unlikely scenario. I still have to talk with Coach (Joe) Jordano, but it's likely I'll return to Pitt next year."

BlueSox manager Jason Wuerfel said Smith's lack of time behind the plate might have hurt him.

"He spent most of the spring at DH and some organizations may need to see a little more of what he can do defensively," Wuerfel said. "He'll have plenty of time to display his talents this summer and next spring.

"Signability is a big thing, too," he added. "I don't know how much money he was asking for, but teams want to draft guys they know they can sign and get into their systems right away."

Wuerfel used power pitcher Stetson Allie, the Pirates' second-round selection, as an example of prospects slipping in the draft because of signability issues.

"On pure talent and potential, Allie was a top-10 first-round pick. But teams were scared off by how much money he wanted," Wuerfel said. "Kevan may have fallen victim to that same type of thing later on, but there's no doubt that Kevan Smith has the tools to play professional baseball.

"At worst, he'll become a solid organizational guy as a catcher," the manager added. "At best, he figures it out and becomes a power-hitting catcher at the major league level. He'll probably land somewhere in between."

Smith graduated this spring with a marketing degree and has a year of college remaining. He wants to pursue a master's degree at Pitt.

His fellow catcher with the Panthers, Corey Brownsten, hit .395 and was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 15th round.

Panthers star and Big East Player of the Year Joe Leonard was picked in the third round by Atlanta and shortstop Danny Lopez went in the 17th round to Seattle.

"I'm thrilled for those guys," Smith said.

Smith figures to be Pitt's full-time catcher next spring. He is the lone experienced catcher on the roster.

"It's me and an incoming freshman," he said. "Some of the scouts were concerned because they didn't see me catch enough games. I played a lot of DH this year.

"They said I've got a top-10 (round) bat, but they need to see me behind the plate, too. I'll keep working on my game this summer."

There were 136 catchers selected in the 2010 draft, including Penn State's Ben Heath (by Houston, 153rd overall pick) and Duquesne's Mark Tracy (by Colorado, 680th overall pick). Tracy is the son of former Pirates manager Jim Tracy.

None of those numbers matter to Wuerfel.

"Selfishly, I'm glad to have Kevan in our lineup all summer," he said. "But I'm here to help kids get to the next level. Kevan still has a bright future in baseball. That's the bottom line."