photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Andrew Smith yells as he waits for teammates to come off the field during the Firebirds' state championship game against Shawnee Mission West on Friday, May 30, 2025, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.

Andrew Smith has always played baseball.

From tee-ball through his high school career, “there’s never really been a time where I haven’t felt like playing,” Smith said.

Now, Smith is set to continue his playing career in college after he committed to Allen Community College. The commitment fulfills a lifelong dream for the Free State graduate.

“I’ve always loved the sport and have always pictured myself playing at the next level,” he said. “So this is definitely a complete dream to play college baseball.”

Allen is in Iola, about an hour-and-a-half from Lawrence. Smith has family in the area, and thanks to a scholarship, by going to Allen, he can complete two years of college for free. Along with the baseball, those perks of Allen gave Smith what he was hoping for.

“I already know I want to major in (construction management), so I think this is a stepping stone in my head where I can either choose to either continue playing or just go study the major that I have already chosen,” Smith said.

For Smith, college recruitment came with appearances at large tournaments with his club team the summer after his sophomore season. He got to talk with several junior colleges at that time, which gave him a sense of where he could play baseball after high school.

“So that was probably when I realized if I really worked hard here, I can definitely make this dream attainable,” Smith said.

Allen competes in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. This past season, Allen finished the regular season 12th in the conference. Along with looking forward to playing baseball at the next level, Smith is excited about the ability to develop at Allen before potentially finishing his career at a four-year school once his junior college days are done.

Smith will take a winning experience to Allen, having finished his Free State career with a state championship as a member of a 28-2 team.

“It was definitely the most fun season I’ve ever had — it was great,” Smith said. “We were so hot. There was really just no team that could really stop us. It definitely was my favorite baseball season.

“We were — even in preseason last summer in the weight room — we were always just ready for the season. We all knew that we had to get at the top, and that was winning the state championship. And I think we all kind of realized that we could definitely towards the season.”

Smith said the Firebirds were focused on their state championship goals since the start of summer in 2024. The team maintained a high level of accountability and pushed themselves to compete at their best in any game.

“Every practice, we were all locked in and weren’t messing around,” Smith said. “Even during those difficult Saturday morning practices, we were all dialed in at all times.”

That experience is something Smith can learn from and take with him to Allen and the junior college level. There, he can continue developing in baseball until he decides how to finish his career at the sport he loves.