EBENSBURG — Kevan Smith described his athletic career as a kind of whirlwind, one which he emerged from with no regrets.

Before he graduated from Seneca Valley in 2006, he starred for the school's baseball and football team. He played both sports at the Division I level at the University of Pittsburgh, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and enjoyed a six-year major league career.

Baseball was the first sport Smith picked up as a youth and he aspired to play it in college. Beginning with his junior year, football began to figure more prominently in his future plans.

He was set to be SV's starting quarterback in 2004, but a broken wrist prior to the season sent him to the sideline for much of the campaign. He returned for the final two games of that season and passed for 620 yards and seven scores.

"Ron Butschle (SV head football coach) was impressed with the way I was throwing the ball and told me I'd be getting some Division I offers," said Smith. "The next summer, I went to a number of recruiting camps, including the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp in Michigan. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was slinging the ball as well as some of the big names there like Josh Freeman (who would go on to star at Kansas State and pass for nearly 14,000 yards and 81 touchdowns in the NFL)."

The offers Butschle was referring to began to pour in. A number of Mid-American Conference schools, along with Michigan State and Pittsburgh, expressed their interest in landing the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Smith. Before the summer was through, he had verbally committed to Pitt.

As a senior on the gridiron, he threw for over 1,500 yards and eight touchdowns.

Baseball, which had always been first and foremost with Smith, took a back seat.

"I was only the second freshman to ever play on SV's varsity baseball team," he said. "I was named WPIAL Quad A Player of the Year my senior season (as a catcher), but a lot of Division I baseball schools were turned off by me committing to play football. I was told that a lot of Major League teams didn't want to waste a pick on me in the (2006) draft. I would have liked to have seen what they would've offered me, but it's hard to turn down a full ride from a Division I football school.

“I think back to that time and I honestly can’t remember exactly how I felt about what was going on,” he added. “Everything happened so fast. It was always baseball with me, then it turned to football.”

Smith played for Pitt's football team for three seasons, earning the team's Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year by the coaching staff in 2006. In his first collegiate start, he passed for 202 yards and a touchdown in a win over Grambling in Sept. 2007. He found it difficult, however, to continue his progression. And with veteran Bill Stull and Pat Bostick, another highly-touted recruit, on the roster, Smith ended the season with just 213 more passing yards.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2008, Smith appeared in just one game.

"The writing was on the wall," said Smith. "I had the talent, but lacked the experience when it came to Xs and Os. I sustained a few injuries and started pressing and stressing."

Shortly after Pitt's loss to Oregon State in the 2008 Sun Bowl, Smith decided to return to the diamond — and Pitt baseball was glad he did.

He was an integral part of the lineup from 2009-11, batting .375 with 19 home runs in that span while remaining a reliable backstop for the Panthers. Being drafted by the White Sox was something he will not soon forget.

"It was ironic. Chicago was one of the few teams I didn't have a lot of dialogue with leading up to the draft," Smith said. "They weren't even on my radar. But getting drafted was an amazing feeling. Just to know that you're wanted and realizing that you get to do something you're passionate about and get paid for it, it was an incredible day for me."

Smith made his major-league debut in Sept. 2016 in a road game against the Minnesota Twins.

He entered the game late at catcher and threw out Jorge Polanco trying to steal. In the next half inning, he hit a solid liner to center that was caught.

“I came out of that game thinking, ‘Ok, I can do this. I can play here.’

“Back when I was playing football at Pitt, playing in front of 70,000 fans, I believe that experience helped prepare me for playing in the major leagues,” Smith added. “College football is as big as big league baseball in this country. When I got to the White Sox, it’s such a big stage, but it didn’t seem so big to me. I wouldn’t change the path I took, first with football and then back to baseball. I enjoyed it all.”

From 2017-21 Smith split time at catcher for the White Sox, Angels, Rays and Braves.

He returned to Pittsburgh as a member of the Braves in July 2021. In one of the games, Smith responded with a base hit and also threw out a would-be base stealer.

Smith, who knew he’d be starting that night, left 100 tickets for friends and family.

“To hear that eruption from the people there to support me, it was incredible,” he said.

The Braves defeated the Houston Astros in the World Series last fall. The ring earned by Smith means more to him than the effort and outcome of just one season.

“It symbolizes my entire career and everything I accomplished,” he said.

Smith was confident he would be donning a Major League uniform this summer. He had compiled a .259 batting average with 13 home runs and 82 RBI in his MLB career.

“Eighteen teams contacted me last offseason, but with each one I would have started in the minors,” he said. “I proved I can hit and handle a major-league pitching staff. In their defense, it is a business, but it just wasn’t worth me uprooting my family, playing in the minors and just hoping I’d get to play in a few major league games during the season.”

While Smith has not yet officially retired, he said he is content if his MLB career is indeed over.

“During the COVID season (2020), I went four months without seeing my daughter, who had just been born,” said Smith. “When you’re single, things are different. You have less responsibility. When you get married and start a family, your priorities change.”

He’s looking forward to returning to Seneca Valley for his induction.

“I kept my head down, worked hard and never got distracted,” Smith said. “It’s cool to see Seneca Valley recognize that.”

Smith now works developing habitat for the purpose of deer hunting, another passion of his.

He and his wife, Jessica, have two children: a son, Wyatt (4) and a daughter, Remi (2). The family lives in Cambria County.