October 12, 2007 (Fayette, Mo.) – Central Methodist University Head Baseball Coach Frederick E. (Fred) Smith has been appointed to two key National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Commitees, announced Kenneth Oliver, vice president for campus life and athletic director. 

Smith, who has served as CMU’s head baseball coach since May of this year, was appointed to the Regional Raters (NAIA Region 5) and NAIA National Baseball Raters committees.

“We are especially pleased to have Fred Smith selected by the NAIA for these important committee assignments,” Oliver said. “He brought strong credentials and considerable experience as a baseball coach to CMU’s program, and his knowledge and abilities will most certainly be an asset to the NAIA’s regional and national committee functions.”

Smith, a 1979 Hickman High School graduate, earned his bachelor’s degree in education at CMU in 1985 and has undertaken graduate studies at University of Missouri-Columbia. As a baseball player at Hickman, he was named a High School All-American. While attending Central Methodist, he was selected as an All Conference, All District and All Region ball player. A four-year letterman in college, he set a single season RBI total and batted .430.

Smith was invited to the 1983 Olympic tryouts and was later invited to professional team tryouts with the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.

Prior to joining the CMU Athletic Department, Smith had served as assistant and then head baseball coach at Boonville High School since 1998. Before then, he coached baseball in the Pettis County Public School system for more than seven years and served as assistant baseball coach at Central Methodist from 1986 to 1989. During his coaching career he has won several conference and district baseball titles.

Smith and his wife, Gayla (Renfrow) Smith, a 1987 CMU graduate, live in Nelson.