Career: Over his two seasons in Boone, led Sun Belt catchers by throwing out 37 stolen base attempts … Started 94 of his 99 career games and totaled eight homers, 16 doubles and 40 RBIs.
2019: Erased 15 stolen base attempts to rank third among Sun Belt catchers and batted .241 with five homers, 26 RBIs and a team-high 26 walks … Started in 44 of his 48 appearances … Had just two errors in 357 chances (320 putouts, 35 assists) … Three-run homer gave App State a 6-0 lead in a 6-3 road win against NCAA qualifier FAU … In his final game, threw behind a runner at first to pick him off in the sixth inning of a tied game … Had homers in a pair of four-RBI games against Georgia State and Western Carolina … Also homered against Michigan State, providing ninth-inning insurance in a 9-6 win, and in an 18-6 win at Coastal Carolina.
2018: Played in 51 games and made 50 starts, including 48 at catcher. The other two were as a designated hitter … Led Sun Belt catchers during the regular season with 23 thrown-out steal attempts … Had a team-high 31 runs, three home runs, 11 doubles, 14 RBIs, 36 hits, 22 walks (tied for team lead), two triples and a .198 average … Caught all 21 innings against Coastal Carolina as Appalachian State played two-plus games on the final day of its season. Five times he caught every inning in a doubleheader, and two other times he caught in both games of a doubleheader … Erased three baserunners at Texas State on March 17, as he threw out a potential base stealer in the second inning, picked a runner off first with two Bobcats aboard in the third inning and threw out a potential base stealer in the eighth inning … Conner Leonard and Smith hit consecutive two-out homers in the sixth inning to produce a 3-1 lead in a series-clinching victory at ULM at April 21 … In a 2-1 win at UTA on May 5, Smith hit a second-inning homer to put the Mountaineers in front … Went 4-for-4 with two runs scored against UNCG in the second game of the season … Had a 3-for-4 game with two doubles against Radford on May 15 … Was 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs in a win at Western Carolina on Feb. 27 … Hit a 10th-inning double and scored the winning run in a 4-3 victory at Georgia State on May 12.
Previous College (Catawba Valley CC): Attended Catawba Valley Community College from 2015-2017 … Won the Rawlings NCJAA DII Gold Glove Catcher of the Year in 2017 … In 53 games, Smith had team high 275 putouts on 298 chances with 21 assists along with a .993 fielding percentage, best among NCJAA catchers … Caught a region-best 10 runners stealing on 30 attempts … Batted .302 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs his sophomore year … Spent one season in the program at UNC Asheville under coach Scott Friedholm before transferring to CVCC.
High School: Two-year letterwinner at Alexander Central … Earned all-state, all-conference and NPC Conference Player of the Year his senior season … Hit .476 as a senior with eight home runs … Junior year, earned all-conference and NPC Defensive Player of the Year.
Personal: Full name is Riley Lynn Smith … Son of Roger and Lisa Smith … Born July 16, 1996 … Majoring in criminal justice … plans to join the police force in hopes to later become a detective or FBI agent.
