Meditation helps FSU's Cam Smith get draft-ready as Seminole baseball stays undefeated in 2024

Florida State shortstop Cam Smith has no regrets about choosing to stay in Tallahassee for his sophomore season.

In fact, Smith never questioned whether FSU was home. Not even after the Seminoles' worst season in program history last spring that saw a 44-year NCAA tournament appearance streak snapped.

Now, FSU is ranked No. 24 by Baseball America and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, first in the ACC with the conference's only undefeated record, and it looks like tuning out the outside noise is paying off for Smith and friends.

Before kicking off a weekend tournament against Butler on Friday afternoon, Smith gave an interview to The Palm Beach Post to talk about the transformation taking place this season at Mike Martin Field.

"Clearly, if you've seen the numbers, we're on a little roll right now," Smith said.

"The vibes are high, the chemistry is there and things like that, so it's pretty cool."

Meditation makes the difference for Florida State's Cam Smith

A few reasons could be given for why FSU is 11-0 in 2024.

Playing in honor of legendary coach Martin, who led FSU for 40 seasons and died on Feb. 1. Restoring the greatness that the College Baseball Hall of Famer built before last year's 23-31 finish.

Alternatively, stat-obsessed fans could be quick to credit the offense, which has produced seven or more runs in each game.

Down the roster, FSU is hitting .367 with a .469 OBP, slugging .592.

FSU coach Link Jarrett knows the Noles' "functionality" on-base is the key to posting wins like Wednesday's 19-3 final against Florida Gulf Coast. In Thursday press conferences, Jarrett recalled a hit by Marco Dinges that cleared second base, but was tough to decipher off the bat.

"Then you saw Cam. Perfect base-running," Jarrett said. "He froze, and if the second baseman had grabbed that, he would've been able to get back, but once it got over the second baseman's head, he made a good read and break and was able to score."

This season, Smith, a 6-foot-3, 229 pound hard-hitter, leads the Noles with a .500 batting average, .569 OBP, and 25 hits through 11 games.

"What I learned from last year is that I really need to settle down by myself before I step on the field, so during preparation, I have to do something to get me calm," he said.

In 51 starts as a freshman, Smith batted .258 for 39 runs on 54 hits and 36 RBI, highlighted by 12 home runs.

"And that means meditation," Smith explained. "Listening to calm music and stuff like that just to kind of get in that chill zone and not too high, not too low kind of thing."

Smith said he enjoys listening to artists such as Bob Marley and Khalid to get him in the right mindset for game time. Country music and artists like Morgan Wallen help him mellow out, too.

"I realized that this isn't an adrenaline-type game like football," Smith said. "You have to be really chill to be successful."

Smith wants to pass that same advice along to any high school recruits looking to flourish at the next level.

"Like I keep stressing, meditate before every game − just find a way to stay even-keel," Smith said. "It's easy to get hyped up for a rivalry game, playoff games and stuff like that, but if you can find a way to stay calm and confident, you're unbeatable."

"It's proven. I've done it for myself the whole summer and up to this point."

Have high school, summer in Cape prepared Smith to declare early for MLB Draft?

Long before he rose as an elite prospect during his varsity career at Palm Beach Central High, and closer to the first time he picked up a bat as a child, wearing the garnet and gold has always been a "dream" for Smith.

Winning in it means a little more.

"Last year, we obviously didn't get where we wanted, so the goal is to get even higher and going to play our ball and make it to Omaha," Smith said.

There's a chance that this could be Smith's last try for a trip to the College World Series, though, as he has thought about the MLB Draft in mid-July.

"I think depending on how the season plays out ... I mean, I do plan on playing at the next level as soon as I can, so I'm giving it all I've got to see what can happen in the future," Smith said.

Smith had a productive summer playing in the Cape Cod League with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, earning All-Star honors and the McNeese Outstanding Pro Prospect honor. The latter accolade often goes to eventual first-round draft picks, like Tommy Troy of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 and Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians in 2021.

But Smith has been on scouts' radars since he was a teen.

After claiming first team All-American status in his junior and senior seasons of high school, Smith landed at No. 84 in the MLB Top 250 heading into the 2022 Draft. Perfect Game ranked Smith as Florida's No. 1 shortstop, No. 8 in the nation, and the No. 53 overall player in the country, regardless of position. He put the world on notice after his junior year, hitting .522-4-14 with the Scorpions/Giants Scout Team at the World Wood Bat Association's 17U tournament in 2021.

Palm Beach Central manager Tony Gullo's resume is a big contributor for why the now-21-year-old Smith felt League-ready at 17.

Gullo, Smith's varsity coach, has spent the last eight seasons at the helm of Central, but has helped produce a long list of Major League talent in nearly four decades on the baselines, from World Series champion Brad Peacock to FSU alum Devon Travis, the brother of Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis.

Not many know that Gullo also had a hand helping FSU's Jarrett during his final season at Florida High.

"Coach Gullo taught me and all my teammates how to carry yourself like a professional," Smith said. "Obviously, he taught the game, all about defenses and offenses, and stuff like that, but I feel like he stressed the human aspect of it.

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"He made sure we were good humans before good players, so that's one thing I got to carry on here to Florida State."

Gullo said a successful season for the Seminoles would be a fitting tribute to Martin.

"It certainly would be nice to see FSU make a run being that we lost (Number) 11 this year," Gullo said. "It's great to see their success early in this season. However, the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Only rankings that count are the rankings at the end of the season.

"Happy to see two men I coached being successful there."

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 'Meditation' is key to early success for Cam Smith and FSU baseball in 2024