Biography
Pronunciation
SMALL-dino
Career (California, 2024 - Present)
At Cal
72 G/65 GS, .273, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 0 SB
Career Highs: AB - 6, at Louisville (3/29/25); R - 3, twice, last at Pacific (5/6/25); H - 3, four times, last at Pacific (5/6/25); RBI - 4, three times, last vs. Pacific (4/7/25); HR - 1, 14 times, last vs. Florida State (5/10/25); Hit Streak - 7 (3/24/25 - 4/5/25)
2025 (So.)
55 G/54 GS, .277, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 0 SB
- Led team in RBI (46) and tied for the team lead in runs scored (48), while ranking second in home runs (11) and walks (24), and tied for second in doubles (12)
- Hit .417 (5-12, 3 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, HBP) and reached base in 9-of-16 plate appearances at the ACC Championships, including back-to-back two-hit games May 20 against Miami (2-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP) and May 21 vs. Walke Forest (2-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, RBI)
- Had a key single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to start a four-run rally in an 8-6 walk-off win over Boston College on May 15
- Had a career-long seven-game hit streak from March 24 - April 5 (.345, 10-29, 2 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB, SF) with at least one RBI in each of the last six contests
- Had a five-game hit streak from May 6-15 (.381, 8-21, 5 R, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB) including key games May 6 at Pacific (3-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) and May 10 against Florida State (2-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)
- Hit first career grand slam, had a career-high-tying thee runs and tied career bests in HR, hits and RBI April 7 against Pacific (3-4, 3 R, HR, 4 RBI)
- Had a 23 game errorless streak from April 24 - May 6 and finished with a .989 fielding percentage overall with five errors in 464 defensive chances
- Other big games and moments included homers in both first and final games March 21 and 23 of a three-game set against Houston, a homer in Cal’s first-ever ACC game March 7 at Duke, a home run March 22 at Stanford, a three-run homer in the ninth inning March 28 at Louisville to tie the contest at 9-9, and a three-hit game April 27 at Notre Dame (3-4, 2 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI)
2024 (Fr.)
17 G/11 GS .256, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB
Season Highs (Batting): AB - 5, vs. Washington (5/16); R - 2, vs. San Jose State (5/12); H - 2, four times, last vs. Washington (5/17); RBI - 2, vs. Stanford (5/13); 2B - 1, vs. Arizona (4/5); HR - 1, three times, last vs. Washington (5/17)
Season Highs (Fielding): C - 3, vs. Ohio State (3/1); PO - 3, vs. Ohio State (3/1)
- Played in 17 games with 11 starts including each of the team's final eight contests as the starting designated hitter
- Hit .256 (10-39) with six runs scored, three home runs and six RBI
- Recorded a .326 on base percentage and a .487 slugging mark
- Posted most of his numbers during a four-game, six-day stretch late in the regular season from May 12-17 when he started all four games at DH and was a combined 7-for-14 (.545) with a trio of two-hit games and at least one in all four, five runs scored with at least one in all four, two home runs and three RBI
- Finished the season with four two-hit games
Notable Games/Series
- Made his collegiate debut as a pinch-hitter when he walked as a pinch-hitter in a 12-3 win against Georgetown on Feb. 17 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale
- Got the first start of his career at first base against Ohio State on Mar. 1 at the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic
- Picked up his first collegiate hit and run batted (2-4, RBI) in his second career start and first at designated hitter in a 6-3 win over San Francisco on Apr. 16
- First collegiate homer was a solo shot May 12 at San Jose State when he also walked and posted his lone career two-run game
- Had another homer and his first career two-RBI game the following day May 13 with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth inning that provided a two-run cushion in a 5-3 nonconference home win over Stanford
- Opened a three-game sweep of Washington May 16 by going 2-for-5
- Was 2-for-3 with a solo homer in the middle game of the series May 17
- Walked with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of an eventual 4-3, 10-inning win in the May 18 series finale against Washington
Other
Collegiate Summer League
2024 (Santa Barbara Foresters, California Collegiate League)
- Played in 10 regular-season games for a team that finished 20-11 in the regular season
- Posted a .238 (5-21) batting average with three runs scored, one double, one home run, five RBI and one stolen base, while adding a .407 on-base percentage and a .429 slugging mark
High School
Class Of 2023 (Junipero Serra HS)
- Three-time letterwinner for the Lions and coach Brett Kay
- Led team to back-to-back CIF Southern Section Division I Championships
- First-team Division 1 CIF and Scorebook Live All-Southern Section, as well as All Orange County selections as a 2023 senior when he was also second-team All-Trinity League and a member of the Orange County All-Star Team
- Earned first-team Scorebook Live and All-Trinity League honors, as well as a second-team All-Orange County as a 2022 junior
- Also a CIF Southern Section Ford Academic Award recipient as a 2022 junior
- Earned a Presidential Merit Scholarship
Personal
- Full name is Luigi Dominic Smaldino
- Born January 1, 2005
- Parents are Shannon and Peter Smaldino
- Has a brother named Max
- Late grandfathers Joe and Jerry Stephenson played Major League Baseball
Joe played for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, and Cubs from 1943-47 before spending 50 years scouting for the Boston Red Sox, while Jerry played for the Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1963-70, pitching in game four of the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals as a member of the Red Sox
- Uncle Brian Stephenson, played college baseball at UCLA, signed with the Cubs and played in the minor leagues from 1994-2001 before moving into scouting in 2002, and is currently the national cross-checker for the Dodgers
Last Updated
May 25, 2025
