A former Wake Forest High School baseball player suffered spinal injuries in a boating accident over Memorial Day weekend, according to his college coach.
Grant Smith, a College of Charleston pitcher, was celebrating his college graduation with family, friends and teammates at the time of the accident. Those with him quickly called 911, and got him to a hospital, where he is in intensive care, College of Charleston coach Chad Holbrook told The News & Observer.
“I do know there was a fracture in the C-5 vertebrae,” Holbrook told The Post and Courier earlier this week. “And he was in surgery much of the evening last night, and he’s certainly in the intensive care unit at this time.
Holbrook told The News & Observer that Smith is surrounded by his family while in recovery.
“He does know his teammates are supporting him and talking about him and doing what they can for him and obviously his parents are with him every step of the way,” Holbrook said.
Holbrook said he was heartbroken to hear about the newly graduated pitcher’s sudden and difficult life change.
“He radiates life every time he’s on the field and always has a certain energy about him that’s infectious,” Holbrook said. “It was obviously very heartbreaking to hear. Kid just graduated from college and had his whole life in front of him and he was making plans to get on with his future. Obviously, because of the accident, things have changed and he has to spend 100% of his time and focus on healing and getting better.”
Smith attended Wake Forest High School, playing 43 games on the varsity baseball team, according to MaxPreps.com. In his high school career, he totaled 38 hits, 23 runs and 19 RBIs.
From there, he played baseball for Brunswick Community College, where he and the Dolphins reached the 2018 JUCO World Series. In 2019, he was named to the Academic All-America Third Team. He went 5-0 while throwing 53 strikeouts in 56.1 innings that season.
Smith appeared in three games this season for the Cougars. He recorded two strikeouts thrown in 2.1 innings of play. In the shortened 2020 season, Smith played in two games from the bullpen.
“He’s the kind of kid that makes your team better whether he’s playing or not,” Holbrook said. “He’s beloved by his teammates and a coach’s dream all rolled into one. That’s the best compliment I can give a player.”
A GoFundMe page was created to help handle the costs of the accident. Will Baumhofer, the organizer, wrote “Grant dove off the boat into shallow water. At this point, Grant has sustained severe spinal injuries. We will update you as soon as we hear anything.”