CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Christian Smith-Johnson was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week on Monday afternoon after leading the Islanders to a weekend sweep over Incarnate Word.
Smith-Johnson earned the award for the voting period of April 20-26. During the three-game road series in San Antonio, he slashed .571/.571 with a 1.571 OPS, recording two home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored and three stolen bases.
The senior's standout performance came in Sunday's series finale. Smith-Johnson recorded three hits in five at-bats with two home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and two stolen bases in an 11-4 victory. The North Richland Hills native opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the second inning and hit a grand slam in the ninth inning.
Sunday marked Smith-Johnson's first multi-homer game of his four-year collegiate career. The performance doubled his previous single-game high of three RBIs, which he had reached four times, most recently against Stephen F. Austin on April 4, 2025. He also became the first Islander to drive in six runs in a game since former teammate Chance Reisdorph accomplished the feat in a win at New Orleans on April 27, 2024.
Islanders head coach Scott Malone praised the senior's performance.
"Christian had an amazing weekend for us. He carried us on and off the field, and he did it on both sides. He had a great offensive weekend with some big home runs and RBIs, which gave the team great energy. He was also dynamic in center field, going to get balls and taking hits away from a good UIW team. He showed great leadership all weekend, keeping the guys up in the dugout. We will need Christian to stay hot for us to have a big finish to the season," Malone said.
Earlier in the series, Smith-Johnson recorded two hits in five at-bats and two RBIs in Friday's opener, helping the team score 14 runs. On Saturday, he recorded three hits in four at-bats and scored two runs, including the game-winning run during a ninth-inning comeback.
This is the first weekly honor for Smith-Johnson, who joined the program in 2023. He is the second Islander to win Hitter of the Week this season, joining Cade Sanchez. Along with Pitchers of the Week Easten Smith and Chase Mayer, the team now has four unique weekly award winners, the most of any school in the Southland Conference. The Islanders are also tied with Lamar and Northwestern State for the most total weekly honors in the conference in 2026.
The Islanders return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Texas State in San Marcos. The team will then host Houston Christian for a three-game series starting Friday at Chapman Field. Both teams are currently tied for the eighth and final spot in the Southland Conference Baseball Championship.
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