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Will Smith breaks down during final press conference at Miami

Danby: Daniel Hager06/10/25DanielHagerOn3
Will-Smith-breaks-down-during-final-press-conference-Miami
Miami right-handed pitcher Will Smith (Photo via Miami press conference)

Miami fell just short of its first Men’s College World Series appearance since 2016 Sunday night when it fell to Louisville 3-2 in the Louisville Super Regional Final. The ‘Canes led 2-0 through three innings, but were outscored 3-0 over the final five innings in the loss.

Following the game, Miami sixth-year right-handed pitcher Will Smith got emotional talking about the program he transferred to from Coastal Carolina in the offseason.

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it… it sucks,” an emotional Smith said following the game. “Those guys are my brothers. They’ll all be at my wedding. I couldn’t have done it without them. I’m happy with how far we’ve come and this program is going to be way better with [head coach] JD [Arteaga] and the other guys returning and I couldn’t be any happier.”

Smith pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief in the Super Regional Final, holding the ‘Cards to two hits and one run with four strikeouts. This season, the Conway, SC native pitched to a 4.30 ERA in 29 1/3 innings.

“That all just comes back to family,” Smith said.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel great out there,” Smith said. “But I knew that my teammates had my back and they needed me. I knew I needed to come through for them and I did the best I could and that’s all I could ask for. That’s all I asked out of them. That’s what I asked from them all year and that just comes back to family.”

The second season of the JD Arteaga era at Miami was a special one, as the Hurricanes reached a Super Regional for the first time since 2016 and a road Super Regional for the first time since 2006. Arteaga, who was an assistant coach at Miami for 22 years, was promoted to head coach for the 2024 season.

“That guy gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” Smith said about Arteaga. “I can’t thank him enough man. He means so much to me and so much to the players. It’s not just me. He loves every player and every player loves him. He’s easy to play for when you’ve got a guy like that. I can’t thank him enough or the University of Miami enough. I’ll be a Hurricane for life.”

Miami‘s season now comes to an end at 35-27, but it was still an extremely promising season for the Hurricanes. Louisville now heads to the Men’s College World Series, where it will open play against Oregon State on June 13 at 7:00 pm EST.