Family reunion
Cousins Jimmy and Declan Smyth both played at Evergreen Park. They are back together at St. Xavier.
In 2016, it would have been a long shot to think that cousins Jimmy and Declan Smyth would be baseball teammates again.
Jimmy transferred from Oak Forest to Evergreen Park and was a senior when Declan was a sophomore. Declan didn’t think he would play the sport in college.
“I thought it was a one-time thing,” Jimmy said.
That spring, the Mustangs lost 15-6 to De La Salle in a Class 3A sectional championship game. It seemingly was the end of the line for the Smyth cousins.
Jimmy headed to Robert Morris, while Declan had two seasons remaining with Evergreen Park. Declan decided he did want to keep playing, committing to North Central College.
The one-time thing, however, has become a two-time thing.
The two are not only teammates at St. Xavier, they also won backto-back CCAC Player of the Week honors. Jimmy was named for the week of April 12, while Declan earned his for the week of April 19.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Jimmy said. “All these years, we’ve trained together during the offseason and now we do this. It’s neat.”
Jimmy, a third baseman, is hitting .398 with 15 doubles, six homers and 61 RBIs for the Cougars (36-10-1). He’s 31-for-31 in stolen base and has scored 60 times.
Declan, a shortstop, is hitting .378 with 16 doubles, six homers and 50 RBIs. He’s 14-for-18 in stolen bases.
“It’s been a blast all year,” Jimmy said. “I’ve been able to play with my cousin and a few other guys I’ve known a long time. It’s just been awesome.”
But the way they got here was unique.
Declan said an injury was one of the reasons it was not a good fit at North Central College. After his
freshman year, he left and joined up with the Cougars.
In his first two years at St. Xavier, Declan hit .313 with five homers and 65 RBIs in 73 games.
The well-traveled Jimmy also had injury problems and sat out the 2018 season at Robert Morris.
When Robert Morris merged with Roosevelt, Jimmy went to South Suburban College and then Tennessee Wesleyan, where he redshirted during the 2020 season due to an injury and played sparingly in 2021.
After graduating with a year of eligibility, he headed back home for one more year of college baseball.
“He thought about coming home — he missed home — and I put a good word to coach (Addison Rouse),” Declan said of Jimmy’s road to St. Xavier. “Coach was obviously more than happy to have him coming from Tennessee Wesleyan, which is a pretty good NAIA school.”
That marks six schools in eight years for Jimmy, who said he learned something each step of the way.
“It was hard at first, but looking back on my career, I was lucky in a way because I got to meet so many nice people and made so many relationships with people,” he said. “I learned different ways of the game. I think I benefited from it.”
Jimmy plans on playing in the independent United Shore Professional Baseball League.
Declan will graduate this spring, but he wants to come back next season for his fifth year of eligibility and work on becoming a teacher and coach like his father Mark, who is Evergreen Park’s baseball coach.
“He’s been a coach since before I was born,” Declan said. “I played for him, and when I was younger, it was difficult because I needed to mature.
“But I had a great four years with him at Evergreen Park and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”