Shelbyville senior commits to play baseball at Kentucky

Aiden Smith verbally committed to play baseball at the University of Kentucky more than a year ago. The Shelbyville senior made that commitment official Wednesday in the Golden Bear Room at the high school.

“Over the last few years, I’ve seen a bunch of signings. I’ve always thought about mine and all the ideas,” said Smith. “Leading up to the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it getting closer and closer. My big thing, I was hoping for a big crowd because I’m a big community guy. I love giving back to the community and when the community shows me support, it means a lot. Getting to see a bunch of people here, especially in the (Kentucky) blue, meant a lot.”

Smith’s family and friends filled the Golden Bear Room. He spent 45 minutes taking pictures with and thanking everyone that came. Smith recently had his “official” visit to Kentucky which only strengthened his decision.

“We got to meet with all the team,” said Smith. “I met pretty much just about every single player and had normal conversations with everybody. They are all super welcoming. Everything about it reminded me why I committed and how much I love it there.”

Smith is part of a top 20 recruiting class nationally and one that is loaded with talented pitchers. There are seven pitchers in this year’s recruiting class for Kentucky, and there are five left-handed pitchers verbally committed in the Class of 2027.

“I know I will be in a tough spot,” said Smith. “They obviously will value some older guys, some veteran guys and portal guys. I definitely will have to fight for my spot, and I am ready for the challenge. I will have to earn it. Right now, I am working as hard as I can to get ready for the high school season and then I want to be ready to go and play my freshman year and play a big role.”

Now finished with a highly successful tennis career at Shelbyville, Smith is focused on getting the Golden Bears their first baseball sectional championship since 2005.

“Obviously, we’ve had our little drought for a while. We’ve had some really good sectional games and some unfortunate endings,” said Smith. “Just the feeling of winning the tennis sectional and having some success there, not being able to get it done baseball wise hurts a lot. I am super eager to get after it this year. I know we have a really good team coming up, returning a lot of guys. I think we have a good shot with the other teams losing some big players in our sectional. I like our sectional a lot. I think we have a good shot at it.

“I am really hoping we can get out of that sectional because we would have a really good shot to get past the regional and semistate and potentially play at Victory Field for a state championship. I dream about it pretty often; it’s just getting past the sectional.”

Smith finished 5-1 with a 2.39 earned run average and 55 strikeouts over 44 innings for a 17-win squad last season. He also led the Golden Bears with a .413 batting average, seven doubles and seven home runs.

In early July, Smith held a youth baseball camp at the Shelby County Babe Ruth facility where he often umpires league games. It is important to Smith to be a role model for the local kids in the same ballpark where he fell in love with the game.

“It all started at Babe Ruth for me,” said smith. “I get to umpire down there, and I have a lot of fun with that. Getting to host my camp and getting a really good turnout, I love helping the younger guys.

“I’m giving lessons right now. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I am not playing. I have a lot of fun doing that. Having a good turnout and getting to have a really good time and meet a lot of new kids all at Babe Ruth where it all started for me was really cool.”

While many at Smith’s signing ceremony donned Kentucky blue, there was one notable exception in Louisville logo apparel. His aunt, Misty (Smith) Albrecht, was an All-State basketball and softball athlete at Shelbyville in 1994 and went on to be a 1,000-point career scorer during her basketball career at the University of Louisville.

“My aunt, she was a two-sport, really a three-sport athlete and now she is really good at pickleball,” said Smith, who admits he is chasing her legacy. “She is on the Senior All-Star wall (outside Garrett Gymnasium) for both basketball and softball. We have a really good relationship, especially being committed now. It’s a fun little jab at the Thanksgiving and Christmas (family gatherings).

“She is a die-hard Louisville fan and I’m a big UK fan. She has always been a really good motivator for me. She put a lot of success on the Smith name and left her mark here at Shelbyville, especially on that wall. For me, growing up with baseball and tennis, I wanted to get really good at tennis to get my name on that wall and then do the same for baseball so I can be on there as much as she is so she can’t get that over me.”

Smith accomplished the first half of that goal by earning Senior Tennis All-Star status – one of 36 players selected from across the state. He is a three-time All-Conference selection that won three tennis doubles sectional titles, a regional title and was a state finalist in 2023.

Smith knows he needs that second All-Star designation before his aunt will ever admit to him being the better athlete.

“She won’t ever say it. A lot of people will,” he said with a laugh. “I know she was really good in her time. I’ve heard a lot of stories. I get to shoot around with her every now and then and she has still got it. She is really good still, so I believe she was really good back in the day.”

Three decades after her graduation from Shelbyville, she is still the fifth leading scorer (1,109 points) in the Golden Bears basketball program.

Smith will major in Sports Leadership while at Kentucky, which will provide him with several career options when the time comes to focus on that part of his life. Until then, its preparing for his final season as a Golden Bear, life in Lexington, and a potential life-changing phone call.

Smith will be eligible for the Major League Baseball Draft in 2026.

“That’s the dream. It’s still an option,” said Smith. “I am pretty determined to get there. I want to be a day one pick … first three rounds. Obviously, I want to play at Kentucky and win a national championship, but every day when I’m lifting or throwing, I am thinking about being drafted out of high school.

“I am really excited to see what the future holds.”

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