14 Jun 2023 Smith receives second Academic All-America honor

SEARCY — Harding centerfielder Cody Smith received Second Team Academic All-America honors Wednesday from College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA), becoming the first Harding baseball player ever to two multiple Academic All-America honors. Harding’s other baseball players to earn Academic All-America are Kevin Burton (1995), Jason Nappi (2011) and Davis Richardson (2015).

Smith, a native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, hit .300 with six home runs and 38 RBIs and collected his second Great American Conference All-Defensive Team honor. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in May 2021 and a Master of Business Administration in management and business ethics in May 2023. He had an undergraduate GPA of 3.97 and a perfect 4.00 GPA in graduate school.

All nominees for this award must have reached sophomore status, carry a 3.30 cumulative GPA and boast noteworthy academic and athletic achievements.

Smith is one of six repeat selections from the 2022 Academic All-America Division II baseball team.

Smith is the fourth Harding student-athlete to earn Academic All-America during the 2022-23 school year, joining Cooper Carroll (football), Kelli McKinnon (volleyball) and Sage Hawley (basketball).