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Karly Smith
Stephens County High School graduate and former Lady Indian softball player Karly Smith helped Brenau University in Gainesville win its second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship in three years earlier this month. Since she is a senior the title season was a special one for Smith as she is ending her Lady Golden Tiger playing career.
“Winning another conference tournament is very rewarding,” Smith said. “Winning it in my last year of playing is very bittersweet.”
The Lady Golden Tigers won the AAC championship by defeating Reinhardt University 10-0 for the conference crown. The former Lady Indian standout is no stranger to winning conference titles. Smith won her first conference title her sophomore year at Brenau.
“It makes you feel like you are on the top of the world,” Smith said. “You play the teams over and over again in your conference. It’s like huge rivalries because Brenau holds such a bold name everyone in the conference wants to beat Brenau. I think what made it feel like I was on top of the world is just my teammates,” Smith said. “Just having each other’s back on the field knowing they want to win as badly as I do so that made it feel insane like a feeling I have never felt before. It was amazing,” she said.
Winning the conference title came with some jewelry. To commemorate their AAC title her sophomore year the team received championship rings. Brenau had a ring ceremony on their home field and when Smith got her ring, she was in awe.
“I could do nothing but just stare at it,” Smith said. “I know that seems crazy to think about it. I was just like I wanted this my whole entire life, so to finally have that ring in my hands I don’t even know it felt so surreal.”
Smith said she wears her ring only on rare occasions. Smith said she only has worn her ring during the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics banquet. When she is not wearing it at a special event, it is kept safe in a showcase in her home in Toccoa for safe keeping. After Brenau’s 2021 second conference title, she’ll have two championship rings. Before joining the Brenau program, Smith enjoyed a successful career as a Lady Indian softball player. So far this season, Smith, who plays catcher, has played in 29 games with 17 hits in 81 at-bats for a .210 average. She has cracked three doubles and driven in nine runs. Before Brenau Smith was part of the SCHS team that crafted a state championship runner-up finish in 2017. After graduating from SCHS in 2018, she joined the Lady Golden Tiger program which was an adjustment for the former Lady Indian.
"When I got into college it was definitely a big adjustment to manage just a heavy course load with the classes I was taking as well as getting all of my work done and having time to get into practice, work out, go to the training room and games and stuff,” Smith said. “It has really been a huge adjustment but I have enjoyed it,” she said.
One adjustment Smith had to deal with was the abrupt halt in last year’s season due to the ongoing pandemic. Smith and her team didn’t get to finish their season last year which gave no closure to the team and created a sense of disappointment.
“To be honest it sucked,” Smith said. “I was doing really well at the plate. I was doing really well offensively and defensively, so it was a really good year for me. “My close friends who were seniors – Autumn Conaway and Shelton Kendrix, Tabitha Morrison – my heart just broke for them because their senior year just got taken away from them,” Smith said. “We played our whole lives and they did not get to finish their senior year collegiately.”
With a season being stripped from her, Smith doesn’t take for granted having the opportunity to play this season. Due to the pandemic, Smith said that the NAIA did grant spring sports an extra year of eligibility, but she decided not to take it. She said she is ready to move on after this season and start the next chapter of her life. Smith said she plans on becoming a teacher after she’s finished her schooling at Brenau. One of her fondest SCHS moment was being a part of a state championship runner-up team.
“It makes me feel really blessed to know my name is a part of that team,” Smith said. “Just the way I left my hometown and the experience I had on the Stephens County High School field, I will never forget that. I will never forget those girls I played with and how those girls had my back.”
Her career at Brenau has a special place in her heart as well. Smith said that she’s glad that she became a Golden Tiger.
“Since I got to Brenau, I definitely met some lifelong best friends that are on my team with me,” Smith said. “That helps out a lot – to get on the field with your best friends that have your back no matter what situation. I have definitely enjoyed it. Honestly, it has been an experience that I will never forget.”
Smith also won a Little League state championship when she was part of the Toccoa Little League when she was younger.