Oklahoma State University Athletics
From The Diamond To The Classroom
June 03, 2010 | Cowboy Baseball
June 3, 2010
By Stefan Nolet
Three former baseball standouts from Oklahoma State who each left school early to pursue careers in professional baseball have returned to OSU to finish up their degrees.
By summer's end, all three will have graduated from OSU.
Matt Smith, Shane Hawk and Charles Benoit all played for the Cowboys at different times, but all three enjoyed success while they played.
Smith played three seasons at OSU, from 1998-2000. He was one of the most successful pitchers to play for the Cowboys, and the record book shows it.
A southpaw, Smith left OSU as the career strikeouts leader, with 348 -- a record that still stands. He is second in school history with 49 career starts, fourth in career innings with 297.1, tied for fifth in career shutouts with three and eighth in career wins with 23.
He left his mark on the single season records as well. Smith struck out 144 batters in 1999, which is third most in a season in school history, en route to helping lead the Cowboys to a berth in the College World Series. In 2000, he finished with 114 strikeouts, good enough for eighth place.
Smith was born and raised in Las Vegas but decided to move so far from home to play baseball because he wanted to play for a successful team with a tradition of winning.
"I wanted to go to a competitive baseball program and pitch for a school that competed for a conference championship and had a chance to go to the College World Series every year, and that's why I chose OSU," Smith said.
Not only did Smith enjoy his time playing baseball for the Cowboys, he also liked being a part of the Stillwater community.
"Baseball was a great experience, and I had a lot of success," Smith said. "But the academic side was really important, and I also learned a lot about the town of Stillwater and how nice people are from the state of Oklahoma.
"Coming from Vegas, it was definitely an eye-opening experience, but definitely those few years I'll cherish for the rest of my life."
After three years of playing baseball at OSU, Smith decided to pursue a professional career after the New York Yankees drafted him in the fourth round of the 2000 draft.
Smith spent five years in the minor leagues, pitching for the Yankees' minor league affiliate teams in Columbus, Ohio and Trenton, N.J.
He said he enjoyed success at times but at other times he struggled and would sometimes doubt his abilities. However, he overcame any uncertainties or struggles he had, and in 2006 he was called up by the Yankees to be a relief pitcher.
He could hardly contain his excitement.
"It was pretty much an out of body experience," Smith said. "When I was up there to throw my first pitch, it was just like, `Hey, you made it. You accomplished your goal. Nobody can take it away from you.'"
He played part of his first season in the Major Leagues with the Yankees but was traded to the Phillies mid-season. In 26 appearances during the 2006 season, Smith finished with a 0.87 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
His 2007 season was a far cry from his rookie campaign. In nine appearances, he managed only four innings with an 11.25 ERA and only one strikeout, while walking 11 batters. His season came to an end after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow.
Smith never played another game in the Major Leagues.
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Hawk, a lefty from Midwest City, Okla., came to OSU the season after Smith was drafted. He had dreamed of playing for the Cowboys since he was a kid so he took full advantage of the opportunity. He even looked up to Smith as a role model.
"It was a dream come true getting to play for OSU because I grew up watching them," Hawk said. "I saw that Matt Smith just got his degree, and he was actually [in his final season] in college when I was a senior in high school so when I took my visit he was still at OSU.
"I kinda looked up to him, being a big, left-handed pitcher as well. I was like, `I wanna follow in this guy's footsteps and be as good as him because he was pretty successful.'"
Hawk came to OSU having been a starting pitcher his whole life, but the coaching staff decided he would serve the team better as a reliever. He took the transition to the bullpen well and became a solid pitcher for the Cowboys.
Hawk also put his mark on the Cowboy record books. He is tied for eighth place for most appearances in a season with 27, which he did his freshman season. He played three seasons at OSU and finished fourth on the career appearances list with 72.
The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 2003 draft, and Hawk believes he had the potential to play in the Major Leagues if he hadn't suffered through injuries in the minors.
"When I played, I was really successful," Hawk said. "But I never got that chance to really shine because of injuries."
He played for three of the Mets minor league affiliates: the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Capitol City Bombers in Columbia, S.C., and the St. Lucie Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
During his career, Hawk said he had somewhere between 40 and 45 appearances but never was called up to the big leagues because of the injuries he suffered. Hawk damaged his labrum and rotator cuff, forcing three surgeries. He had never suffered major injuries in his career before the shoulder problems in the minor leagues.
Hawk called his professional career quits after the third surgery.
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Benoit, a native of the Dallas suburb of Southlake, came to the Cowboys in 2006 after playing his freshman year at Oklahoma, where he appeared in 16 games during the 2004 season. He transferred to Grayson County Community College in Denison, Texas for his sophomore season but suffered a season-ending injury after pitching only nine innings.
The Phillies drafted Benoit in the 30th round of the 2005 draft, but instead he decided to transfer to OSU to play another season of college ball.
Benoit didn't produce a bunch of school records like Smith and Hawk because he only pitched at OSU for one season. He did have success as a starter for the Cowboys, though, compiling a 5-4 record in 13 appearances, including 10 starts. He finished with a 4.56 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
The coaches and players that he practiced and played with was Benoit's favorite part about playing baseball at OSU.
"What's really number one is the people -- playing at Oklahoma State was great," Benoit said. "The coaching staff was great and mostly the camaraderie with the players, the relationships you build with them.
"Just getting to play in the Big 12 against such good competition, getting to go out and play against UT and Baylor and all those schools."
After his one season with the Cowboys, Benoit was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round of the 2006 draft.
Benoit pitched for the Hickory Crawdads in North Carolina, the Williamsport Crosscutters in Pennsylvania and the Lynchburg Hillcats in Virginia.
He said he struggled with the travel schedules in the minor leagues, but it was definitely worth the experience he gained.
"The travel was somewhat challenging," Benoit said. "You play 140 games in the minor league season, and it's a lot of travel. You'd be on 10-14 day road trips and after the game, you'd get on the bus at 11 at night and drive six hours to another city in the middle of the night and get ready for a game the next day.
"It was a grind, but it was a great experience and I learned a ton."
Benoit ended his professional career and began to pursue his degree in 2009.
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After his time in Major League Baseball, Smith moved back to his hometown of Las Vegas. Three years ago, he decided that he wanted to finish his degree with OSU so he could start a new career. During the past three years, he has been taking online courses through OSU, and he will be graduating at the end of July with a degree in economics and a minor in marketing.
He has also been working as an intern in Las Vegas while he has been finishing up his degree. He said he hopes the internship helps launch a successful career for him in the business world.
"Right now, I have an internship at CityCenter Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and it's in their marketing department," Smith said. "That's what I'll be doing during the summer and hopefully getting into marketing or sales when I'm done with that."
Smith also got married this past New Year's Day. His wife, Kelli, is in optometry school and should be finished by next spring. He hopes the two will be able to settle down in Las Vegas.
Although he said he would still like to be playing baseball, he is thankful for the opportunity his degree will give him in the next chapter of his life.
"Obviously, if I had my choice, I'd still want to be playing baseball right now, but not everybody's fortunate enough to have a long career in the Major Leagues or pro ball for that matter," Smith said. "So one door closes, and I look at getting my degree and joining the work force as another door that's opening for me."
When Hawk's playing days were up, he moved back to his hometown of Midwest City and took a job as a baseball coach at Choctaw High School. He said he loves coaching but decided to finish his degree as a backup plan in case coaching doesn't pan out or if it does not provide enough financially for he and his family.
Hawk graduated in May with a degree in management and a minor in sports management.
"I kept on and pursued the business degree in case the baseball coaching thing didn't work out," Hawk said. "Now I've gotten a degree in business, but I've also passed my certification test to teach and coach as well. I kinda have two different paths I can choose."
Hawk and his wife, Meredith, have two children -- three-year old Malerie and 19-month old Titus. To finish his degree, Hawk commuted back and forth between Stillwater and his home and work, which was difficult for him and his family.
"Each semester I took a couple of online classes, but the last year and a half I commuted, drove an hour here and drove an hour back," Hawk said. "I had a family member who lives in Stillwater so last semester I'd stay once a week to save myself some driving."
Last semester, he drove to Stillwater for morning classes, drove back to Oklahoma City to coach, then drove back to Stillwater for night class.
The schedule was tough, but Hawk said he is glad he didn't put off getting his degree.
Benoit only needed 36 more hours to graduate so he wanted to finish it up in one year. He took 15 hours in the fall and 18 hours in the spring. He walked during the graduation ceremonies in May, but needed one more class to officially graduate. That class will end this week, and he will graduate with a degree in economics and a minor in marketing.
Benoit said he hopes to use his degree to find a job in sales and also said he has a job opportunity that looks promising.
"It's sales, and it has to do with furniture rentals for corporations," Benoit said. "I'd go out and get companies to rent furniture for offices. It's nicer furniture; it's a higher-quality furniture. It's for, like, lobbies."
The job is in Dallas so Benoit would be able to live close to his hometown of Southlake. He plans on approaching his new job just as he would approach preparing for baseball.
"I'm gonna move on to the next chapter," Benoit said. "The same desires I had towards a career in baseball, I want to do that in the professional world. I'd like to be successful and live a balanced life."
He added that the OSU faculty and staff are a huge reason why he will be able to have success in his new career path.
"During my experience here coming back, the academic staff has been unbelievable," Benoit said. "They've wanted me to be successful and wanted me to graduate, and they worked with me as far as trying to get my classes set up properly."
While they were playing baseball, the faculty and staff at OSU helped Smith, Hawk and Benoit to become the best ballplayers they could be. When they decided to return to OSU to finish up their degrees, the faculty and staff were again ready to help, this time making sure the men are prepared to be successful in the business world.
