Former Stetson University catcher Jeff Smith has worked all his life for an opportunity at the Major Leagues - and that chance finally came this week when Smith was named first base coach and catching coach for the Minnesota Twins.

A native of Naples, Fla., Smith played for the Hatters from 1993-95 before being drafted by th Twins in the 20th round of the annual amateur draft. He continued in the Twins organization as a player until 2002. He moved on to play in the Red Sox and Rangers organizations before a knee injury ended his career following the 2004 season. 

In 2005, Smith returned to work in the Twins organization as hitting coach for the Gulf Coast (R) Twins. He continued to work his way through the organization before spending the last eight seasons as the manager for the Ft. Myers Miracle in the Class A Florida State League.

Most recently, Smith was a finalist for the open head coaching position at Stetson before removing his name in advance of the recent announcement from the Twins. For Minnesota, he will work under manager Paul Molitor and new president of baseball operations Derrick Falvey and general manager Thad Levine.

"It's been a wild offseason," Smith told the Naples Daily News. "It kind of led to this. Decisions like this aren't easy."

In moving to the big-league level, Smith will rejoin a number of players he managed when they were with the Fort Myers Miracle and in 2010-14, when he managed the New Britain Rock Cats, the team's Double-A affiliate at the time.

"You work real hard and have goals," Smith said. "One of the goals was to get to the big leagues at some point in my career."

The journey took longer than Smith wanted it to. But looking back, Smith said, everything he went through as a minor league manager prepared him for the bigger stage.

"You know what, I wouldn't change that journey for the world," Smith said.

Smith is the second coach in the big leagues with Stetson ties. He joins with Derek Johnson, who serves as pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. Johnson served as an assistant coach at Stetson from 1998 to 2001.