Purdue Baseball's Jackson Smeltz Earns Brady Comeback Scholarship Award
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue pitcher Jackson Smeltz was a recipient of the Thomas A. Brady, MD Comeback Scholarship Award on Thursday at Methodist Sports Medicine's Brady Sports Achievement Awards Reception.
He is Purdue's ninth athlete to win the award since it began in 2006. The award honors male and female athletes from the high school and collegiate level who overcome adversity or injury and returned to play at a high level in their sport.
Smeltz has overcome numerous surgeries since the age of 13. When he was a kid, he had surgery to remove a noncancerous brain tumor. He also endured Tommy John surgery after his freshman season at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, Indiana.
He wouldn't return to the mound until his redshirt freshman season in 2020, but the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Smeltz also injured the labrum in his right hip, and the pandemic delayed the procedure and his rehab for the surgery.
Despite the adversity he's faced, Smeltz recorded 22 strikeouts and 12 hits allowed in 19 1/3 innings over 13 appearances during 2021. He is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and boasts a 3.62 grade-point average while majoring in agribusiness.
"I just love to play the game," Smeltz said in an interview with the Purdue College of Agriculture this spring. "I feel like God gave me these talents for a reason, and just because you are going through a tough time or you hit roadblocks along the way, that doesn't mean you should quit. It means you should keep on going no matter what. My mentality is that I am going to keep on going until someone tells me I can't play anymore and there's not an opportunity left."
Smeltz was nominated for the award by Purdue baseball's athletic trainer Casey Kohr.
"I have never worked with a young man that has overcome as much as Jackson," Kohr says. "He is thought of highly in the eyes of his teammates and coaches. He is the best example of an athlete that has been able to achieve success despite all of the obstacles in his way. Jackson is an incredible person and it has been a privilege to be able to work with him these past three years. I look forward to following his bright future wherever it may lead."
Purdue's Brady Comeback Award Winners
- 2021: Jackson Smeltz, Baseball
- 2019: David Blough, Football
- 2016: Emily Fogle, Swimming
- 2014: Liza Clemons, Basketball
- 2013: Drey Mingo, Basketball
- 2012: Robbie Hummel, Basketball
- 2010: Jaycen Taylor, Football
- 2009: Jodi Howell, Basketball
- 2006: Brent Coudron, Baseball
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