Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – If you are hoping to hear some stories about a tiny Taleah Smith tearing around the bases and making diving catches in youth tee ball games you’re going to be disappointed.

Those stories don’t exist.

As a child Smith was more drawn to dance than she was to the dirt of the softball diamond.

“When I was about 10 my mom wanted me to quit dance and trying something else,” Smith said through a smile. “I had literally never even seen a softball before in my life.”

Eight years after giving softball a try Smith still dances a little for fun but softball has become her activity of choice.  

Now a senior at West High and one of the top overall players, a division I signee and perhaps the best leadoff hitter in the state, Smith believes she made the right choice following her mother’s advice to give softball a shot.

“I was all about dance as a little kid, I still do it for fun now but it’s not my thing any more,” Smith said. “Softball, is more my thing.”

A four-year starter and three-time all-state pick, Smith is one of the best to ever wear a West High uniform.

The senior centerfielder and Northern Iowa recruit enters Thursday’s senior night double header against Dubuque Wahlert with 234 career hits, a career average of .481, 159 career runs and 169 career stolen bases.

“She is just a freaky talented kid,” West High coach Justin Lutjen said. “She has the hand-eye coordination that you don’t see in anybody.”

Smith may have started her softball career a bit later than some but was a natural from the first time she put on a glove.

At her first practice as a 10-year-old her coach couldn’t believe she had never played the sport.  

“I was playing catch with my coach at the first practice and he couldn’t believe I had never played before,” Smith said. “That’s when I knew this is for me.”

Smith played basketball in junior high and ran track as a freshman its been all softball since and one time watching the explosive Smith in the batters box, on the bases or in center field and you can see why.

Lutjen knew he had a special talent in Smith the first time he saw her at an indoor practice as a freshman.

“I remember I took the job and I came to a practice in the winter and was watching and there is this kid that runs like a gazelle, she is put together and I thought she is going to be good what grade is she a junior or senior,” Lutjen said. “They told me she was a freshman and I said you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Smith became the first project for Lutjen in his first season at West High.

Prior to her freshman season Smith was a right-handed hitter who wanted to drive the ball.

Lutjen took one look at her explosive first step and speed and saw a perfect left-handed slapper.

“She was a right-handed hitter and it took some convincing because she wanted to hit bombs,” Lutjen said. “We knew how successful she could be hitting from the left side.”

The switch was a struggle for Smith but just as she has done with everything on a softball diamond since she was a child, she picked it up quickly.

“I had never swung left-handed,” Smith said. “It was so hard, I worked on it every day with him. I didn’t even want to do it, at times I just wanted to give up and it got me really down at first but then I actually started to get better at it and get on base and that’s when it got fun.

Practice officially started May 8th of Smith’s freshman season so that’s when Lutjen could begin working with his new leadoff hitter on batting left-handed for the first time.

15 days later the season started.

Smith, who had never batted left-handed in a game hit .477 as a freshman and was a third-team all-state pick.

We turned her May 8th and May 23rd she is batting left handed and she hit .480 her freshman year,” Lutjen said.

Smith has gotten better every season.

She hit .488 as a sophomore before hitting .490 last year as a junior while being named first-team all-state for the second straight season.

“My freshman year I literally just started off bunting,” Smith said.  “All I did as a freshman was bunt so I definitely feel like I have improved on just hitting the ball harder and getting it down as a lefty.”

Smith has improved in nearly every aspect as a hitter over her career.

She had three extra base hits in her first two seasons combined but had four last season and already has three this year including her first career home run.

Smith struck out 17 times as a freshman but has only 21 strikeouts the past three seasons combined with only five this year.

“I feel like I definitely have things to improve on, I definitely haven’t perfected the hard slap but that’s what I want to get down this year,” Smith said. “I do feel like I have come a long way from freshman year when I was literally just bunting. I’m finally starting to be able to swing.”

Where Smith didn’t need any refining was on the base paths.

She stole 42 bases as a freshman and is 169 for 175 on stolen base attempts in her career, including a perfect 27-for-27 this season.

“When he says go I just go, I don’t question it,” Smith said. “We work on it every day in practice but I just let my speed do that.”
The biggest growth that Lutjen has seen from Smith has been in what she does that can’t be measured in stats.

One of only four seniors on a young West High team Smith has become a leader on and off the field.

“We’ve been through all the wars since she was a freshman so we have some conversations that are pretty straightforward and there are some times when she gets a little down on herself and we remind her you can’t do that now,” Lutjen said. “Last year you could rely on our seniors to pick everybody up and you didn’t have to worry about it but this is your team and she has responded. She absolutely responded and I’m proud of her for that.”

Smith has the stats and awards to rank her among the best at West High.

One thing has been missing for the senior standout, a trip to the state’s biggest stage.

Despite winning 65 combined games the past two seasons, West High has come up one win short of the state tournament back-to-back years.

Winners of eight straight and 11 of their last 12 games Smith and West High (14-12) are thinking about ending that streak this season.

“I know people talk about it and all but I just want to win games,” Smith said. “Stats are talked about, I know that, but I want to do what’s best for my team. I’m going to try to steal as many bases as I can but honestly it’s just about my team and winning games.”