FAIRFIELD, Ct. - “My most important baseball days have been as a catcher.”

That will continue for Christian Smith after the Fairfield Ludlowe senior made a commitment with Quinnipiac.

“I was playing 13U and my friend said he didn’t like catching anymore and said does anyone want to take his place,” Smith reflected. “I said why not try it and it ended up working out.”

It is a job the 24th-rated 2022 catcher in New England has grown to love.

“You’re always in the play and always in control of the game,” explained Smith. “I like being the leader on the field.”

That will be the case in the future at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school.

“They first saw me in Massachusetts at one of their tournaments and again at the Boston Open and they asked for my phone number,” Smith reflected. “I ended up going on a tour. I saw the campus and it was beautiful. The coaches were amazing, they were friendly and open. I sent them my transcripts and they called me a week later after they heard back from admissions and they offered. A few days later after talking to family I felt it was the best offer for me.”

What Quinnipiac saw in Smith was “I’m a big physical kid that plays with good energy and is a good leader on the field,” pointed out the 6-0 207-pounder.

Southern New Hampshire and Sacred Heart were among the other schools that were intrigued by the 186th-ranked 2022 in New England.

“I put in a lot of work in the offseason, especially the fall,” Smith said about how he has improved his game. “I’ve worked on my catching and being quicker with my feet, and on my arm velocity. I’ve also gotten in better shape to be faster. I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym and it all worked out for me.”

The desire to continue playing after high school began a few years ago.

“I’ve wanted to play at the highest level of college baseball that I can since around the age of 12,” Smith related. “When I transferred to Baseball U at 14 I took it more seriously. I realized the potential I had and pushed toward goals to be where I want to be.”

Recruitment began to take place last fall.

“It started slow with me sending video to a bunch of schools,” Smith explained. “I talked to coach (Patrick) Vigilio (with Baseball U) about where he thinks I belong and he put me in the right opportunities. After that it was my job to perform.”

Teammates, family and hitting coach Matt Perper are credited by Smith with being influential in getting to this point.

“I had a lot of people that pushed and motivated me on and off the field to be a better player and person,” Smith said.

The beneficiary is Quinnipiac, which will receive a 3.1 student leaning toward a major in business.

“A great thing about it is it’s close to my home,” Smith said in regard to the university located 45 minutes away from his home in Fairfield. “My whole goal was to stay close to family and now that’s happening which is very cool. My brother is going to college not far away so this is amazing.”

That was also the feeling after making the commitment official.

“There is so much excitement and relief to take the recruiting process off of my shoulders,” Smith noted. “I’m so looking forward to this. I’m going to work hard and not only push myself, but my teammates around me.”