Clarion Area Bobcats’ Smail Brothers And Clarion-Limestone Lions’ Tommy Smith Members Of Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association’s Inaugural All-State Team
The recently formed Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association has announced their Inaugural All-State Teams and three local players are among those selected.
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Brothers Dawson and Derek Smail from Clarion Area were selected in Class 1A and Tommy Smith from Clarion-Limestone was selected in Class 2A on this historic 2024 team. The three have played ball together in travel ball, Little League All-Stars, etc. throughout the years. The tri had outstanding years in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference (KSAC) and District Nine.
Dawson, who recently graduated and is headed to play for NCAA Division I Xavier, was named to the First Team as an infielder. He had a .526 batting average, with 41 hits, including 3 home runs, a triple and 10 doubles, while driving in twenty-three runs, for the Bobcats this past season.
Dawson also scored thirty-nine runs in 2024.
Dawson is very happy to be a part of the team and who he is sharing it with. “It’s an honor to be a part of 1st team All-State. I’ve worked very hard to be a part of such honors as that. To be able to share this honor with my brother, Derek, and life-long friend, Tommy, makes it even more special. We have so many memories together on the baseball field and this feels like a fitting end to it.”
Clarion Area head coach Rob Jewett had this to say about Dawson, “I am so proud of Dawson for getting 1st team All-State! He put in so much hard work all 4 years of his high school baseball career.
“He continued to get better and better every year. He can hit any pitcher you throw at him. His fielding had improved so much. He has great instincts in the field, he is smooth, and has a strong arm.
“He is one of the best to ever come through our program and this district. His career batting average was .496, with 140 hits and 50 doubles…wow!!!
“He so much deserved this honor!”
Derek, who will return for another season with the Bobcats, was named to the Second Team, also as an infielder. He had a .456 batting average, with 26 hits, including 4 home runs, a triple and 7 doubles, with eighteen runs batted in during this year’s campaign. He had scored twenty-six runs. Derek was also 2-0 on the mound, with a 2.51 earned run average, in 22.1 innings pitched. He struck out 36 batters, while walking 12 and giving up no extra base hits.
Derek shared his thoughts, “It is truly an honor to be selected for the All-State team. I’ve worked really hard over the years and been pushed by teammates and coaches to be the best baseball player and person I can be.
“Sharing this with Tommy is pretty special because we have known each other since we were little playing baseball and to share the honor of being All-State with him is amazing. He is a really hard worker and a good person to be around and train with.
“And sharing it with my brother Dawson is a huge honor because we push each other everyday to be better. We compete with each other no matter what it is.”
Coach Jewett said, “I am also very proud of Derek for getting 2nd team All-State. He has also worked very hard the last 3 years of high school baseball. This has been his best year by far at the plate, batting .456 and adding his deadly power with 4 home runs. He hits the ball so hard, it is really fun to watch.
“He played an amazing 1st base this year as well, only committing 1 error all year. He was also a beast on the mound for us.
“Excited to see what he does next year, but he is well deserved for his All-State selection this year.”
Tommy, a 2024 Clarion-Limestone graduate who will be playing for PennWest Clarion, was named to the Class 2A Second Team, as a pitcher. He appeared in 13 games for the Lions in 2024, with 7 wins, 3 losses and a save. Tommy had a 2.72 earned run average in 36 innings of work, registering 59 strikeouts and 23 walks, with no extra base hits.
He also had a fine year at the plate, with a .418 batting average on 18 hits, which included a home run, 4 triples and six doubles, with seventeen RBIs. Tommy also scored eighteen runs.
Tommy shared, “It’s a great accomplishment and an honor to be selected by coaches from across the state of Pennsylvania. Being that it was the first ever All-State team makes it that much cooler of an accomplishment.
“As far as being able to share that with the Smail brothers, it’s awesome. I’ve grown up on a baseball field with the two of them, so being able to end my high school career while sharing that accomplishment with them is bittersweet. It’s a pretty cool way to top off my senior baseball season.”
Tommy’s dad and Lions’ head coach Bill Smith had this to say, “Tommy had an incredible HS career. I’m sure all the coaches in KSAC and D9 are glad to see him graduate. To reach 216 strikeouts is an amazing accomplishment.
“We as coaches and parents are very proud of him and we are all excited to see what the next level looks like.
“Congrats also to Dawson and Derek. I have a lot of baseball history with those two. All three have proven that hard work pays off.
“Congratulations to all!!”
The First and Second Teams in each classification include: five pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, five outfielders and two utility players. (Complete list of teams below article.)
Several other players from the area were also selected.
From District Nine, Punxsutawney’s Parker Stahlman (pitcher) was selected to the Class 3A First Team. DuBois Central Catholic’s Aiden Snowberger (pitcher) and Brayden Fox (outfield) were both named to the Class 1A Second Team, while DuBois Area’s Trey Wingard (catcher) was selected to the Second Team in Class 5A.
From District Ten, Slippery Rock’s Sal Mineo (outfield) garnered Class 4A First Team selection.
Three players from the northern part of District Ten players were also named, all First Teamer’s: Sagertown’s Blake Burchill (infield) in Class 1A and Cathedral Prep’s Jason Fultz Jr. (pitcher) and Andrew Costello (infield) in Class 4A.
A look at the All-State selection process (culled from article originating in Pittsburgh Post Gazette, by Mike White) :
One person from each of the 12 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) districts around the state was in charge of getting the nominations from coaches in their respective districts. After the nominations were in, the
The All-State Committee selected the players. A total of 404 players were nominated this year.
North Pocono High School coach Brian Jardine is the PSBCA President and Upper St. Clair assistant coach and former Mt. Lebanon head coach Mark Saghy, a member of the organization’s board of directors, is the chairman of the All-State committee.
The Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association was formed at the urging of Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Gambino and director of program development/alumni relations Ryan Wheeler, who were very instrumental in getting the association off the ground, earlier this year.
(Congratulations to Dawson, Tommy and Derek and all the players named to this historic team!!!! Thanks to Brinley Kiskadden – BK Photography and the Smith’s for the photos and Mike White and the PG for the background information originating from their article!!)
Complete 2024 PENNSYLVANIA BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-STATE TEAM (Players listed in alphabetical order for each position)
