GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College’s John Macon Smith (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford (Western Carolina)) earned Rawlings All-South Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches’ Association Tuesday. Smith, a sophomore first baseman, earned second-team recognition. The all-region selections were nominated and selected by South Region head baseball coaches.
The announcement marks the second all-region honor for Smith, who was also named a Third Team All-South pick by D3baseball.com earlier this month. Smith started all 41 games for Guilford and hit .400 with 13 homers, 14 doubles and 51 RBI. His 13 homers tied the school record and stand third in NCAA Division III through games of May 21. Smith’s league-leading 51 RBI rank second in Guilford history and 21st nationally. A 2012 Second Team All-ODAC pick, he recorded a conference-best .794 slugging percentage, which stands eighth in Division III and third in school history.
Smith enjoyed 14 games with at least two RBI and had 18 multiple-hit contests. He captured the ODAC’s Baseball Hitter of the Week Award Feb. 20 after helping Guilford to a pair of wins with six hits, including three homers. Smith had two homers and four RBI in a Feb. 18 win over Maryville College (Tenn.) and plated five runners a week later versus Southern Virginia University. He was 3-for-6 with a double, triple, homer and six RBI in a league win over Eastern Mennonite University Apr. 15.
Despite limited time at first base prior to joining the Quakers, Smith made just three errors in 390 chances for a .992 fielding percentage that ranks 12th in school history. His 373 putouts set the school record.
Coach Nick Black’s ’02 team enjoyed its best season since 2006 with a 21-20 overall record (9-9 ODAC). The Quakers set or tied five school standards this season and could return as many as 29 letter winners for the 2013 campaign, including Smith.