NEWPORT, R.I.-- Setting goals and trusting the process are core values Zack Smith '19, Seahawk Hall of Fame Class of 2026, attributes to his Salve Regina University baseball experience. He finds that they still drive him today.
"Achieving goals is easy to do when your team and coaches are instilling a work ethic around you," said Smith. "I always set goals for myself no matter how unrealistic. I do this now at work with sales quotas."
Smith earned four All-Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) honors. He was D3Baseball.com Rookie of the Year in New England (2016), CCC Player of the Year (2019) and All New England (2016/2019). With Smith on the team Salve baseball reached conference finals all four seasons and claimed three CCC Championships which led to NCAA Regionals appearances (2016, 2017, 2019).
As a three-year captain Smith stands out in program history with notable statistics such as batting average (.380), games played (169), at bats (627), runs scored (149), base hits (238), doubles (47), RBIs (157), total bases (337) and sac flies (15).
"Camaraderie was the driving factor," said Smith. "This drove me to get up early in the morning and put in the work. Every second that we could we would be hanging out together. We took in the freshman to make them feel like they're part of the family. The quicker you become a family as a team the quicker you can work off each other and be successful."
When it came down to the final two schools in his college decision process Smith was actually back and forth between choosing Salve and CCC rival Endicott College. He still remembers the time when he knew he made the right decision for his education and baseball career.
"My freshman year in the postseason it was us versus Endicott," said Smith. "They intentionally walked Alex Perry to get to me. He had the most hits in the whole conference. I got the go-ahead RBI and Tristan Dacey followed up with another one. We ended up winning the game to secure the CCC championship."
Smith describes himself as a very competitive person and Salve provided a high-achieving environment in which he was not only pushed by others but encouraged to explore under what circumstances he works best.
"Salve gave me the resources to figure out how I learned best," remarked Smith. "I was encouraged to work with the professors and coaches collaboratively. I would tell current students to speak up and don't be afraid to ask questions or ask other students and professors for help. Why struggle when you can ask for help and make your life better?"
Smith was recruited by current head coach Eric Cirella '05. He still credits the successful team culture and camaraderie to coach Cirella and assistant coach Harrison Barlow.
"I could not have done this without Cirella, Barlow, my family, and teammates. If I didn't have anyone pushing me, I would not have been as successful as I am on and off the field."
Smith graduated with a degree in finance and found a role in sales with the help of a resume he built up during winter break when he was not preparing for summer baseball. Since then, he has remained with the same company and is now first vice president at Horvath & Tremblay, commercial real estate firm.
"I truly believe that If I put in the amount of work that I gave to baseball, I'm going to be the most successful person in the office," said Smith.
"Salve is a great place with nice people," continued Smith. "I always liked everyone around me, and this made me want to be better for myself and my classmates. When I first started, we weren't nationally ranked. By my sophomore year we were top 25 in the country and by the time I left we were a top 10 team. Over the past few years Salve has been a dominant threat in all of DIII baseball. My hope for kids coming to Salve is to use that cumulative success to become a better player and a better person."
