After Kenyon Yovan, Aaron Zavala, Gabe Matthews and others moved on to professional baseball, it was natural to wonder who, if anyone, would lead the 2022 Oregon baseball program.

“Instead of replacing them, it’s more about how we can all play our roles,” Oregon center fielder Tanner Smith said.

With the Oregon baseball season underway, Smith has begun to answer the leadership question. For him, being a leader, whether vocally or by example, is nothing new, and he’s ready to assume the all-important role on this year’s team.

Starting in high school, Smith’s leadership and people skills have been a strength of his. And by Smith’s junior year at Servite High School, the varsity baseball team was his team. He was well-liked, mature and prolific on the field.

“An exceptional human being,” Servite assistant coach Duane Page said. “Probably what I respect the most about him is his ability to be a great teammate, friend and leader. It’s easy to like a player for what they bring to the baseball field, but I think what makes him special is the things that he brings to the table that most people don’t see.”

Page remembered first coaching Smith during the Servite baseball offseason camp before his freshman year of high school. Smith made a lasting impression on Page, not just with his talent, but with the way he carried himself. At his first summer scrimmage at-bat, he nailed a triple into deep right, good enough to earn Smith a permanent spot on the varsity roster.

Smith’s competitiveness and talent got the best out of his high school teammates. 

“His desire to win and to be great is extremely high, so I think that when the players heard him saying ‘hey, what you’re doing isn’t going to produce wins for us,’ they just took it to heart,” Page said. 

From freshman to senior year, Smith never played a game of lower-level high school baseball. He holds the Servite program record in varsity games played, making his mark in league All-Star games during his junior and senior seasons. He was a four-year letterman with the program and was ranked a top-25 outfielder in California by his senior year.

With his talent and leadership abilities, his teammates gravitated toward him.

“He’s a lead-by-example guy,” Page said. “He’s not an in-your-face kind of a leader, and I think that’s why people, or kids, or players respect him so much.”

He added: “But when he speaks, and tells people to kick it in gear, they listen, and they always have.”

His experience at Oregon has been similar. After proving his worth during his freshman campaign, he’s seldom left the field since. He started all but two games in 2019 and has started in every single one of the Ducks’ matchups since.

Smith currently holds the fifth-highest slugging percentage in Oregon program history (.460) as well as the fifth-highest on-base percentage (.400). Last season, Smith tied for second on the team in batting average, posting a .324 mark.

Now, with a chance to be leader in the locker room as well on the field, the progression appears seamless.

“Not just on the stat sheet, but more off the field and in the locker room is where I need to put my focus and to try to lead this team in whatever way I can,” Smith said.

Oregon baseball (10-6, 2-1 Pac-12) has huge aspirations for 2022, and Smith has played his part. 

After a slow first series of the season, he bounced back. He’s had 23 hits thus far, with seven RBIs and three home runs. 

On March 6, the junior posted two doubles and a homerun. As has been the case throughout Smith’s baseball career, his teammates followed suit. The team, following up on his breakout performance, struck out only twice all day. 

With Pac-12 play approaching for the Oregon baseball program, Smith will need to continue to be a strong example for his younger teammates through his play, his competitiveness and off-field leadership.