18-Year-Old Brady Smith: From the Ozarks to the Milwaukee Brewers

Hillbilly hard work meets Major League dreams. 18-year-old Brady Smith joins American Roots Outdoors fresh off being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2025 MLB Draft. Alongside his parents Brad and Erica and younger brother Bryn, Brady shares the emotional story of draft day, the years of grinding that got him there, and why he chose the pros over college ball at Wichita State. The Smith family also opens up about their Ozarks roots, faith, and love of hunting and fishing on the Current River — plus a full breakdown of how to clean and fry up a mess of suckers.

Chapters:

• 0:00 — Intro & Sponsor Messages
• 0:59 — Show Open: Cardinals & Brewers Talk
• 2:18 — Meet Brady Smith and Family
• 3:26 — Draft Day Story
• 6:08 — Brady's Baseball Journey
• 9:56 — Who Is Brady Smith
• 18:14 — College Path & Cardinals Snub
• 19:20 — Hunting and Fishing with the Smiths
• 27:39 — Faith, Family, and the Future
• 35:07 — College vs. Pro Debate
• 37:06 — Closing Thoughts
• 38:36 — Bonus Segment: Cooking Suckers
• 42:40 — Wrap-Up & Sign-Off

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Transcript

 Intro & Sponsor Messages I say it all the time, how he can hit that, that perfect strike zone, but yet he can't hit an animal. So, um- I'll give you some shooting lessons. I'll work with you, buddy. But it, and we won't start out of the window of a truck, I promise. Oh, that's a little bit more fun. I like to know it's about food plot planting time. What are you gonna plant this year? Okay, in the spring I like to plant different things, and also in the fall, but my go-to all the time is the Eagle Seed Smorgasbord, because it has a variety of blends. You know, when I was a kid, and even as an adult, I loved to go to a smorgasbord. I bet it's the same for deer. It is. They l- they have a variety to choose from. Instead of eating one thing all the time, they got a variety, just like you walking into a restaurant. Get Smorgasbord today and you'll hold more deer and turkey. How can I go about getting that Smorgasbord? T- go to a dealer near you or go to www.eagleseed.com. Show Open: Cardinals & Brewers Talk ♪ Camo boots on my feet, bow in my Walking in the early dawn to climb up in my stand ♪ Wise Eye Technologies presents. Welcome to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio, K Country 95, Thayer, Amanda Springs, and, uh, Redbone's on the boards. I am. Yeah. What about those Cardinals? Well, let's see. The weekend before the All-Star break, they took two out of three from the Atlanta Braves, and I renewed my faith in Jordan Walker, who nobody picks to win the Home Run Derby. I mean, absolutely nobody among the experts, and then he comes out and he wins the Home Run Derby. And then the National- I love it, love it, love it ... and then the National League gets beat in the All-Star Game. They get shut out. They struck out 15 times And the Cardinals don't play again until, we're recording on Wednesday, they don't play again till Friday, so. Yeah. Young team, young team, young team. Young team, inconsistent team. Yeah. A team deeply in need of pitching. Yeah. What about those Milwaukee Brewers? Yeah, I don't even wanna talk about them. The Brewers are in first place in the Central. Uh, they got good pitching, they've got good young hitters, and, uh, of course they got some tradition. Meet Brady Smith and Family You know, they won the division, what, a year ago, and they've been in the playoffs now, like, eight of the last nine seasons or something. So yeah, they're, they're something to contend with. Yeah. Well, guys, we got a great show lined up for you. We had to have a little jab there. Uh, we got Brady Smith, 18-year-old East Carter County boy, a, a hillbilly that loves to hunt and fish, uh, loves the Lord, and his family's here with him. His mama. Hi. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And come up here to the mic with him. Yeah. Sure. And, uh, his younger brother. Hi. Yep. And what's your younger brother's name? Brent. Brent, okay. And how old are you? 14. 14. You're 18- Wait, wait, wait, wait. What, what, what, what, what? 14? Yep. Man, do you play basketball? Yes. A little bit. Ever thought of playing at Thayer? We've already recruited him at Liberty. Oh, no. Hey, oh, uh, be careful. Jason Andrews is up at Alton now. He'd be the way to recruit him to Thayer. Oh, Brad, there's the daddy. He spoke up. So welcome to the show, man. We're excited about the, the, the direction you're going, man. Draft Day Story You're 18 years old. We're gonna talk about that. Uh, but right now we're talking about current events, and a current event just happened. Yes, sir. At your house. Talk about that. Uh, I mean, it was a, it was a lot built into this. Uh, it was, uh ... It was stressful, very stressful time, but, uh, we, we came through. Uh, a little later in the draft than what I wanted to, but then we came through in the 18th round with the Milwaukee Brewers, and, uh, now, now we're, now we're heading off to Arizona on Sunday to start a new career. What do you think of that, Red Bone? I think it's, uh, fantastic. I think it's fantastic. Now, you'd already signed to Wichita State, right? Uh, yes, sir. How are the Shockers feeling right now? Uh, I don't know how they're feeling- ... 'cause we got, they had five or six guys get taken, uh, two high school guys, so. Uh, I, I really don't know what they're I, I'd say they're probably scrambling right now a little bit. Yeah, probably. Well, you know, I mean, it's a great baseball program at Wichita State. I mean- One of the great in the Missouri Valley, which is a great conference. But, uh, yeah, congratulations, man. That's outstanding. Sir. Sir, thank you. So, so Brad, you're on here, the daddy. Brad, so y'all sitting at- Yeah ... your house, and the- people's gathered around you and your, your family, and you just told me before we went on the air here, your mom went to screaming. She was upstairs. Talk about that. Uh, yeah, so we're, we're sitting there. I'm sitting in a chair, and Dad's walking back, pacing behind all the cars. And we hear Mom, we're all watching our phones, and we hear Mom scream from up top on the deck. And she just comes ... Dad taps me on the shoulder. He's like, "You're going to the Brewers." And my buddy, my buddy comes running upstairs and says, gets my mom, and she s- he says she almost falls down the stairs, she's running so fast. None of us know, n- nobody else knows what's happening except for, uh, us three, and then, uh, she gives it away, and then finally it comes across the TV. So ... I've been telling everyone, literally the most stressful day of our lives. Um, I had to go upstairs because he was, like, laid out in a chair sweating, Brad was pacing. It was just, it was insane, and then you have all these people and, you know, you don't know if he's gonna get drafted or not. Yeah. And he kept saying, you know, being the brother that he is, "What if he doesn't get drafted? What if he doesn't get drafted?" And that was, you know, when you get to the 18th round, and then, and finally it happened, and Brad just said, you know, he was like, "I was out there pacing and, um, praying." He said, "I was just praying, Lord, just lead and guide him," and, and he did. He took care of him. Beautiful. Beautiful. That, that is fantastic. And we'll get into some of this, 'cause my, my big question is when did y'all, and Bradley, you might wanna chime in here, when did y'all think, you know what, he might have what it takes to get to that level? Brady's Baseball Journey I mean, what, what age did he really start getting serious about it? Brad? You, you asking me? Yes, sir. I, uh, you know, we, we knew in his sophomore year he had a very standout year in summer, and that's when we knew that he was capable of playing Division I baseball a- and that became a reality. But I'll just tell you, we, we, we If you had asked us six months ago if we thought that he was gonna be drafted out of high school, we'd have said, "No, he'll go three years." And then I think that Wichita State was a good path to get him to the next level. But, um, when it became a reality was in January when our phones star- or really in February when our, when his emails started blowing up and his phone started blowing up with scouts. We're like, all right, this is, it's no longer a, a three-year down the road thing. This is, uh, this is, this is, could really be a reality by the end of this season. Yeah, I think that's pretty cool. Oh, it is. And then I, I'm just, you know, I'm an old Shannon County boy, and, uh, I can't help but, but be so happy for you guys, you know? Because you're making the Ozarks proud. The Smith family's making the Ozarks very proud right now. Yeah, well, and anybody he ever struck out in a high school game is going, "Yeah, I got struck out by -" That's what they say about Brady Oh, yeah. Yeah. Or, or, or you could be like earlier- Hey, there's the other side of that where they're saying- and, uh, so they, they faced Ty Putnam from Battle High School, which he's throwing like 96, 100. And then you got me, and the- they've, they've been going crazy online the past week and week about this of, uh, how, how they got, went 2-0 against dra- uh, MLB draft picks. So like, they're like, "The MLB's taking anybody these days," so. Oh, you're gonna have them attacking you, I promise you. All right, I'll ... That's- I promise you. It, it's gonna be part of it, man. Just laugh about it. I told him I love the Jordan Walker, uh, quote, you know, that he used from Jackie. Was it Jack- No. Is that who said it? I don't know. Yeah. "Nobody boos, nobody's boos." Yeah. Yeah. "Boos nobody. Boos nobody," yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I told him- Good stuff ... yeah. Good stuff. We're gonna dig deep into the roots of Brady Smith and the Smith family, everybody. We're gonna go to a break. We come back, you're gonna love this. This old hillbilly boy is making the Ozarks proud. Don't go away. We'll be back with more right after this. Hey, this is Eddie Salter, and you're listening to American Roots and Outdoors with Alex Rutledge and friends. ♪ Hunting off the farm. Wishing on some love. I've been on a big boy for a while. I could load him in the back of my truck. ♪ just gotten better with these new cameras that they come out with. How could it get better? Well, they got the new Mini and they've got the new DC2. DC2? They have a... Yeah. DC2, you could actually go live anytime you want and film your own hunts with the Wise Eye data count. Now, wait a minute. You mean I could be getting ready to shoot a deer and I could go on my phone and activate my camera and, boom, film- Your own hunts my own... Well, that's amazing. That's amazing. Okay, Alex, you convinced me. How do I get one of these cameras? Go to a dealer near you or go to wiseeyetech.com. Order yours today. presents... Welcome back to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio, K Country 95, Thayer, Missouri, Mammoth Springs, Arkansas. Right on the state line down here. R- Redbone's on the boards, and again, we got a great show lined up for you. Who Is Brady Smith It's who is Brady Smith? 18-year-old Brady Smith. Redbone, I've done some research on you, whether you know it or not. I, I, I asked some people in Carter County, "Tell me about this Brady Smith," which I knew a little bit about you. Just let me tell you this, and I'll tell you who it come from. Donald Black. He said, "You're gonna meet one of the hardest working kids that you'll ever meet in your life. This kid has worked hard, and they know what hard work is." Would you say that's part of the reason why you're where you're at? Uh, yes, sir. I mean, yeah, it ta- it takes a lot of hard work, takes a lot of hours, a lot of, lot of, uh, sweat and stuff in the cage. You gotta, you gotta grind it out in the weight room and the cage just to get to a, just to get to this point, and that's, that's just to get there. It takes a lot more just to keep going, so. Yeah. Brad, tell us about the Smith roots and, uh, it goes back into Grandin, huh? Grandin, Missouri. Big city, Grandin, Missouri. Absolutely. That's, that's where I'm born and raised is Grandin. And, and our motto, if you go to my office in Van Buren, there's a, there's a picture of the Grandin city limit sign. And, and, you know, I think that that is a tribute to our kids, whereas, you know, I, I'm just appreciative that Erica and I were both, uh, raised in a way to get up, go to work, and, and, and take care of our responsibilities. And, you know, here's another little town. Erica's father was born and raised in Stringtown. So you got Stringtown and Grandin as the, as the two starting places from the, from the family tree Yeah, I'm not even sure where Stringtown is. Stringtown? Stringtown. Where is Stringtown? You know where Stringtown's at? It- I've been there ... it's between- She's talking ... Donovan and Poplar Bluff, tucked down in the- Another little old gas station in the Mark Twain National Forest- When Cathy- ... off of K Highway. It, uh- That's right ... so it's- Your family's gone wild ... my dad was a ... He owned a sawmill and, and when I would get in trouble, that would be my punishment. I'd have to go stand at the end of the sawmill and- And stack lumber ... and stack lumber. Yeah. Yeah, slabs, whatever. Yes, yes. See, there, these people know what hard work is, man. Yeah. The Smith roots run deep here in the Ozarks. And I'll tell you what. And my favorite thing- Here's a work something you haven't heard in a long time, Alex. As a kid, I had to cut pecker poles. A lot of people don't- Had to cut pecker poles even know what pecker poles are anymore. You know what hard work is, man. Yeah. So, so the Smith family, the, the roots run deep here in the Ozarks. Uh, when did you start playing baseball? Oh, it was like- Seven ... seven ... seven. He was, he was- That's when I started playing, like- Traveling ... travel, travel ball. So- And that's my favorite That's what I think set the drive in him because he had ... He always played up and he was always the youngest one on the team. And, um, his first season, him and one of his teammates would share right field. One inning he would be in right field and then on the bench, and they would switch. And then when it came to tournament time, like, he wouldn't even bat. Like, he would ... He'd be sitting on the bench, you know, because his- Oh ... bat wasn't very good. And so, um, I think that set a drive in him, like, "I'm not sitting on the bench anymore." And so he worked his booty off. And, um, funny story, fa- fast-forward, and those two boys are the only boys in that group that play college or that were gonna play college. He's playing- Yeah ... college and he's going to the MLB, so Pretty awesome ... I'll, I'll- Yeah ... I'll never forget the defining moment in, in my memory is, is about that. He was nine years old, we were in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, playing in a tournament a- and, and Alex, you're gonna know who his, his travel coach, was Robbie Burke. You know Robbie. Oh, oh, big time. And Robbie is a, a big, uh, piece of where he's at today, but I'll never forget coming home on a five and a half hour drive from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and Brady was so upset because he, he didn't get to play in some of the big moments and get included. And I, I told him, I said, "Right now you need to realize that life ain't fair, and you may as well learn that at a young age. And the only way that you overcome that is you can't give a, you just can't give anybody a reason to put you on the bench." And- Right ... and I think that that, that changed everything. That's awesome, awesome. Hard work is paying off, Redbone. Yeah, well, and, and I think it, it, you know, and so many, so many times now when, when you're playing those young age travel ball, everybody thinks, "Well, I'm on the travel ball team, I should be playing every inning." And it's just not that case. I mean, when you're playing at, at that level of competition, you want the best play. Mm-hmm. And if you wanna be the best, you've gotta work. And I'm sure even at nine years old you were, you were working outside of just practice. Yeah. For sure. It take ... I mean, it was, it was, you get done with practice, like, like for instance, uh, me and Gage, we'd get done with practice and we'd go hit. We'd go hit for hours upon hours in their indoor cage. And, uh, just as, at some point, uh, that's where, that's where you gotta set yourself apart, is who wants it more, just. Here, uh, a few weeks ago I got to interview Jackie Stiles. She was in there doing a basketball camp. Yeah. And my question that I asked, I said, "If there's one thing," and it was all elementary school kids, I said, "If there's one thing you hope these elementary school kids get out of a Jackie Stiles basketball camp, what is it?" And she said, "That you have to put in the work. You can't just go to practice and go home." And she challenged those kids, there were 90 of them at this camp, she challenged them to pick a number and shoot that many shots every day, regardless of the weather. If it's on an outside basket at your neighbor's yard or wherever, and said, "I promise you, you do that every day of your life from now until you get in high school, you will play on your high school basketball team, and you might play in college." But that's, it's the same thing. I mean, if you're gonna be a professional baseball player, at some point you've got ... And I'm not saying that you have to give up basketball and football, but you've gotta make baseball your priority. Yeah. For real. And it sounds like that's kinda what you did. I think, I think that's one thing that really helped me was, uh, at the end of my sophomore year going into my junior year, I was like, "Yeah, baseball's really gonna be it." I mean, small school you wanna play everything, but at some point- Sure ... you gotta, you gotta step away from something and you gotta go be great at another, so. Yeah, real quick, we got two minutes left in this segment. How would you describe the Smith family, Erica? Hardworking, determined. We're gonna go to great lengths to, to make it happen Hard workers. How would you describe the Smith family? Uh, kinda same thing. Feel like we're just gonna make it happen no matter what. If there's a will, there's a way. You're like a good coon hound or a good running dog. You got that stealth in you, energy- Yeah ... you know, not to give up. I like that. Don't you, Redbone? Yeah, I do. A- and real quick, I know this could just kinda be a one-word answer, but at what position do you hope to progress in your MLB career? Pitcher. Pitcher. Pitcher. That's why they recruited him. Now r- real quick, how fast are you throwing it? You ready for this, Redbone? 93, 95. Okay. Good breaking ball? A- and what, what is your junk? I got a slider and a changeup, and I also throw a two-seam sinker. But, uh, my, so my slider's 83, 86, and my changeup's 83, 85. That's good margins. Real good margins. And we need to take a break. Yeah, Brady Smith, everybody, in the studio, in the house. Him and his family, and his dad's on the line. He's on a business trip somewhere, Lake of the Ozarks, I believe, or somewhere. Kansas City. Kansas City. Kansas City. I'm sorry, Kansas City. Don't go away. We'll be back with more Brady Smith right after this. ♪ Year after year, got my hunting gear ♪ Remember when a hunter was measured by how well he shot, not how much he spent? When memories were measured in rooster tales, not dollar bills? We do. We're Spandow, reliable, easy-to-operate, extremely balanced premium firearms offered at a price that proves you still know the true measure of a hunter. College Path & Cardinals Snub Spandow, making the American hunting tradition available to all. ♪ Passed on down, planted deep in the ground, around your heart. So you never gotta worry. ♪ Welcome back to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio again, K Country 95, and our special guest is Brady Smith, 18-year-old Major League baseball player, was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. Shame on the Cardinals is all I gotta say. Shame on... You should've, could've got a local country boy that's gonna end up big time. That's my prediction. I think you're gonna be a household name. You're getting there now. Uh, my prediction, you have God's favor, son. Thanks. You got a great family, and, uh, good things are on the way. Sure. Your hard work's gonna pay off. Miss Erica, you wanna say something? She's about to tear up. No. I'm, I'm fine. Okay. Hunting and Fishing with the Smiths I'm just listening, taking it all in. You're taking it all in. So, so here, uh, uh, segment three of the show, hunting and fishing with the Smith family You love the Current River, don't you? You're smiling ear to ear. Oh, I love it. He said he wished he got recruited to ... I'm not gonna say any of it. Where he could fish a lot. Talk about your hunting and fishing experiences and your love of the outdoors. Uh, I mean, I feel like that started very young for my pawpaw. We, we used to come home, he used to come home every Friday night. We'd get, we'd go, we'd go out on the river. We'd fish, and, uh, come back and cook the fish. And then, then in the wintertime we'd hunt and gig, gig as much fish as we possibly could, so. So, so some of these people don't understand gigging suckers. It's like, suckers? You know. Oh. Explain to them how good suckers are, brother. Oh, they're about the best fish you can eat. You can sit there and eat those all night long. Yep. I'm getting a message here. Jordan Bla- says, Jordan Blaire went to high school with me, and there's a guy on asking if you knew another pitcher out of Paducah, Justin West. He goes, he is from Paducah, Kentucky. He is a pitcher, went to Louisville, pitched for them, and was drafted to the Yankees as a left-handed pitcher. Huh. Don't know him. Never heard of him. So, so what is your favorite? Fishing, turkey hunting? I already know the answer. Duck hunting? Deer hunting? What is it? Duck hunting. Oh, my gosh. See- See, I can't believe a hillbilly loves duck hunting- ... over turkey hunting. That's what I say, Alex. That's what Blair says. Yeah. Yeah. As, as soon as you- I, I had- ... put duck hunting into the offer, I knew it was gonna be duck hunting I had- Weston's got a lot of waterfowl out there ... I- You can do a lot of waterfowl I had to switch up some type of family tradition. I get, I get, I get too antsy sitting in a deer stand sometimes. You gotta switch it up. So Bryn, do you have a sto- a duck hunting story about your- Come back here with me on the mic. Yeah. Well, about all I can say about Brady's duck hunting is he don't know how to shoot nothing. Brotherly love, brotherly love. That's a lie. That's a lie. That's a lie. Bryn says he better stick to throwing a baseball. No, Bryn, he can't drive, and so- He said he, uh, Brad said that you better stick to throwing a baseball. Yeah. Where do you get your good Spandau shotgun? W- if, if I got you one, would you promote it? Sure. It's the same thing as a, a Benelli M2 pattern. Yeah, I would shoot it. It's a g- I can get you a waterfowl gun. Perfect. Yes, sir. I'll promote it. Social media, right? I'll let you- Yeah, but only post photos of you actually hitting a duck. Yeah. He'll have to take his brother with him for that one. No. Bryn, Bryn hasn't been on a lot of hunts, but we killed a lot of ducks, so. Oh, I hear you, I hear you. No. Here we go. Here we go. Story, story about, uh, deer hunting now. So he- Yeah ... he was hunting a buck one day, and he said, uh, he shot a deer. So me and dad walked out there, and little did you know, the bullet hole's probably about 10 foot up in the tree. Throwing you under the bus, dude. Throwing you under the bus. I was probably 11 years old, and I got a little bit happy, trigger happy about my- Buck fever. Yeah, I got a little bit trigger happy, and I sent him the blood that I, uh Well, it sounds to me like he got confused. He thought he was shooting a duck. Yeah, I guess so. I say it all the time, how he can hit that, that perfect strike zone, but yet he can't hit an animal, so, um. I'll give you some shooting lessons. I'll work with you, buddy. But a- and we won't start out of the window of a truck, I promise. Oh, that's a little bit more fun. Most baseball players love to shoot from the truck. Yep. Good stuff, Redbone. Yeah, good stuff. And you know, there are a lot of baseball players who are avid hunters. Yeah. Uh, we know Ryan Klesko, who's been on this show. Oh, big time. He played for the Atlanta Braves. Uh- Adam Wainwright, big time hunter, and there, there are a lot Um, what, what's his name from... He lives in Dexter, uh, Andrew Cashman. Andrew Cashman. Yes. Yeah. Your dad said his name too. Cashman, yeah. Pitched there for, pitched for, uh, the Texas Rangers I think. Cashman. Hey- Uh ... we got some talent in Missouri. Mm-hmm. Yeah, we do. Yeah, and you know what? I gotta tell this real quick. Uh, you know, I guide hunts, and I lease land and sublease land. I had four guests come in this past Thursday. You're gonna love this, and I told them about you. Uh, one of them is a scout for colleges. That's what he does. He gets you- finds talents across America, and he gets them hooked up with a college, and they pay them to go to college. Hmm. He's like a manager. He's a booking agent. So his name is Derek, okay? I didn't know that what these guys done for a living. The next guy is Andre Curwin. He played for the San Francisco 49ers. He's an NFL scout- Hmm ... for football. So they're coming here to hunt this fall, and they done a big low country bowl, and his friend Chuck Inshinik guides turkey hunts, and he's an insurance adjuster. And the other guy was with Ben. He's a financial advisor like Brad is. And so these guys, I sh- shown them, and I said, "Man, there's so much talent up here. People don't ever look at our kids." He goes, "That's ended today." Mm-hmm. He said, "From now on, we're gonna be watching this area big time up here in the Ozarks." Mm-hmm. So all the kids listening, all the schools listening, we've got the radar out on all these kids with talent in the Ozarks gonna come up. Yeah. Again, back to you before we got a couple of minutes left here. Smallmouth fishing. What's your biggest smallmouth? Uh, it was the five-and-a-half pounder in Minnesota. Oh, my gosh. It was, it was awesome. What'd you catch her on? Uh, yeah, no, yeah, we- Minnows ... we were throwing live leeches out there. Live minnows. We were m- middle- Live minnows and leeches. Yeah, in the middle of a lake and just sending out there, reeling them in left and right. We were averaging, like, three-and-a-half pounders and I... We hooked a five, we hooked a five-and-a-half pounder. I was like, I came back here that, the, at the end of that summer and I was like, "The fishing here ain't even a, it, it almost ain't even fun no more." Yeah. After you're fighting a five- Yeah, Current River don't have them like that anymore ... yeah, after you're fighting a h- a fighting a five-and-a-half pound smallmouth up there- Yeah ... it's, it's a, it's a different story. Yeah. You love catching smallmouth on the Current, though. Oh, it's awesome. Do you remember your first smallmouth on Current? Mm, I don't remember my first- You didn't gig it, did you? Yeah, you do. Yeah, you do. Right down in front of our house- Yeah, your dad said, "Yeah, you do" ... on the river. Donald. In front of the house, in front of Donald, and he said your dad said. Oh, maybe. Maybe. I was gonna, I was gonna say the one I remember the fir- Yeah uh, remember the most was whenever me and Gage were fishing down in front of Nathan Maurer's place and, uh- Yeah ... caught a three-and-a-half pounder there. That's a good hole. The Gap. We call it The Gap. Yeah, that, that was- Yeah ... that was a fun one. Now, what about your first turkey? You remember that? I haven't killed my first turkey. Oh, you ain't killed a t- oh, we'll fix that. Yeah. We'll fix that. What about your first deer? Uh, first deer was- It was an old five-pointer. Five-pointer. Yeah, five-pointer. Was that with you or was that with Dad? No, it was on K5. On K5 he said- On K5 ... with your dad. K5. Yeah, on K5 on our 40 acre piece- Yep ... that butted up to the family farm. Yep. And it was, it was, it was a fun, it was a fun moment. Awesome everybody. We're gonna go to a break. Again, we got Brady Smith in the house. Man, this guy right here got recruited and drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. Again, I'm gonna say shame on the St. Louis Cardinal scouts. I can't believe you let him get away. We're going to a break. We'll be back with more right after this. Hey folks, this is Richard Young with the Kentucky Headhunters down here in southern Kentucky. You're just listening to American Roots Radio with Alec Rutledge, right down here from Kentucky, but he's out yonder somewhere else. He's way out there. Y'all check it out. Everybody, Alex Rutledge. I'm excited to tell you about 12 Point Hunting Blinds. Seven-foot walls, perfectly camouflaged, snowproof, waterproof, tinted windows. They will not reveal you in the 12 Point blinds. We're proud to work with this Amish-made blind, made in America, made in USA. 12 Point Hunting Blinds. For more information, go to 12pointhuntingblinds.com. Faith, Family, and the Future Hornady Ammunition presents. Welcome back to American Roots Outdoor, segment four of our show. Man, this show is flying by quick. And man, this is fun. We got Brady Smith and his family. His dad's on the phone calling from Kansas City. His mama, Erica, talked about being raised in the Ozarks and sawmilling and stacking lumber and slabs. This family and little brother, Mama says he gonna be a better athlete than you are. Yeah. I think she says that- I think- ... to, to, to challenge you even more ... I think, I think it's, I think it- Favoritism? No, I think it sets the standard high for him. I, I, I- To push you ... I just set the bar- No, it's almost gone ... I just set the bar- It's almost gone I just set the bar high so he can, he can try to compete with it a little bit. Follow in the footsteps. Yeah. Yeah. The roots. He was in the, in the gym this morning at, at 8:00 AM before we left. Was you? Wow. That's what it take. You say you wanted to move to Liberty and play football with us and... No, he wants to move to Fair as far as football. He, he would- And basketball. He- Yeah ... he would be a phenomenal football player. I'll guarantee you would. Hey. Yeah. He- He's going... He is representing Missouri next week in Atlanta in the PBR Junior Future Games, which is- You represent Missouri? ... one of the largest- Yes ... baseball events in America. Wow. Yes. Talk about it. You excited? I, I pretty well excited. I didn't even know I was going for- ... most part. I just go with the flow half the time and- ... throw the baseball when it needs thrown, so yeah, but- How fast are you throwing? You gonna throw- Low, low 80s Yeah, it's not bad for 14 years old And you're, you're, you're going to school where at? East Carter, Missouri East Carter. Elsino. Elsino. Yeah, I love that town. Yeah. Small town, man. Roots are deep over there. Yeah. Yeah. So we're gonna talk more hunting and fishing, Redbone. That's what we're, our outline is, okay? Uh, then get back to what your question is. So you don't rem- you remember your first deer, your f- you ain't got a turkey yet. We're gonna fix that next. Okay. Okay. If you're out of camp. Yeah. We'll fix that. I, I might be in North Carolina. Yeah, you probably- Yeah, he'd probably be, it'd be pre-season ... you know, you know anybody in North Carolina? I got connections. We'll get you hooked up. I got buddies over there who will take care of you. Perfect. Yeah, yeah. So w- how would you explain hunting and fishing to people that may be watching this show that's never experienced hunting and fishing in the Ozarks? Share your love of that. Uh, I mean, it's something, it's something that you kind of grow up doing and then you just stick with it. Like if you, if you don't, if you don't, if you get to miss it, if you have to miss a day of hunting or a day of fishing, it, it, it throws everything off. Like, as in duck season, I, I try to go as much days. I, I think I went 30 of the 60 days. So someone wasn't happy, but that, that, that got me- You weren't getting any work done at home. Yeah. No, I was. I just was very tired when I was doing it. Yeah 'Cause I was waking up at 2:00 in the morning to go duck hunting and then by the- As do we 'cause I'm checking Life360 when your child goes out at 2:00 AM and driving- Yeah an hour, you know, to go 'cause we don't have any places to duck hunt around here. Yeah, yeah. So it, it's kind of stressful. I got your connection across the Mississippi, a good connection. Flooded timber hunts. Oh, I like that. They mart 'em. Flooded timber He's got seven, seven boys and they're baseball players. Oh, I like that. His name's Thomas Moore. He's a team member of American Roots, and he goes to Canada every year and shoots geese. They go up there and spend a week. That's my dream hunt. Well, I'll hook you up with Thomas. Perfect. Yeah, yeah. So your faith, let's talk about your faith. Sir, uh, I mean, I feel like th- this, none of this is possible without God. So you gotta, you gotta keep him center of everything just to, just to keep you humble and everything to, uh, continue doing what you love. It, it ta- it takes him over anything. I mean, whenever you're down, you gotta go to him to fix it all. So I feel like if you keep, you keep God center, everything's gonna work out how it's supposed to. Yeah. You keep your faith in God. Yes, sir. Jesus. Yes, sir. Mama Feel the same way. He's been raised that way. I was raised that way. And, um, I shared with you my dad is no longer with us, but he is- With you in spirit ... he, yes. And I know he's up there looking down on this boy and directing him and helping him and all of that. So- Peep, I was the favorite. Yeah. I, uh, again, we're going by her outline on her phone because I can't look at it on my phone. But, uh, a- again, I wanna say this the third or fourth time, I can't explain to you how proud I am of you guys. Sir. Thank you. This makes the Ozarks people proud. Mm-hmm. This family. Sir. Sir. Smith family is first class red bones. Yeah, I think so. And, and Alex, if, if you could give the headphones to- Okay ... to, to Mom. Okay. And I'd like to get Dad in on this because I think this is a question that a lot of people might wrestle with in these kind of situations. And that is, uh, did you wrestle with the decision of should our boy go to college and get an education, or if he gets drafted, go to the Major Leagues? And I know there are two schools of thought, and the one that I believe is that, you know, college can always come after if the MLB thing doesn't work out. So where ... Did y'all have that discussion with him, and, and where did y'all stand? Do you wanna answer? Absolutely Go ahead. You want me to? Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. All right. Well, there, first of all, I think what a lot of people don't realize is part of him entering into the MLB contract, his education is paid for on top of his signing bonus. So he has his education fully paid for as long as he uses, starts to use that tuition money two, within two years from the time that he retires from Major League Baseball. Now, going to college is great, but it's not always great in sports. The theory sh- m- set, it said is mindset should be peak while you're in your pro career instead of peaking while you're in college. There's a lot of guys, we knew guys on draft day the other day that were signing for $1,000 because they regressed. And then we know s- a, a Missouri State player right there in Springfield who thought he was getting picked rounds eight through 13. He was a, a Conference USA, uh, First Team All Conference and a Second Team All American, and his name never got called. So a pro team, when you go to go straight to the pros, you are getting the best development programs that even exist out there, um, to play at that level. So that was the mindset behind it, is go ahead and start your pro, pro career now knowing that your education's paid for anyway. Yeah. Mom, you agree? I totally agree. Um, we were so thankful for, um, Wichita State and the feeling that we got when we went there and visited and, you know, we, that was where we wanted him to go. I got that same feeling whenever we went to the Brewers. They were first class. They talked about his education, they talked about his development. Um, and just I felt like they were gonna take care of my boy and make sure that they succeed. They said, "We're investing money in him. We're gonna make sure that he, he makes it." College vs. Pro Debate Well, you know, and, and, and here's the thing, folks, if you're out there listening, uh, there are, there are tens of thousands of high school seniors that just quit playing baseball Tens of thousands. There was, what? 600 got drafted? 600 of them got drafted. 127- Well, 600 college and high schoolers And that is, well, college and high school. Yeah, that's my point And only 127 high schoolers. Yeah, that, that's my point. Only 600 athletes got drafted and only 100 and something high school kids. Mm-hmm. You've gotta take the shot when the shot is being offered. Mm-hmm. It's just like deer hunting or turkey hunting. Yep. You gotta take the shot when the shot offers itself. Yeah. I, I wanna ad lib to this, uh, Todd Coffrenaugh, Milwaukee Brewers number one fan. He knows every player, the stats of everybody, everything. Here's his exact words. He goes, "Alex, let me tell you something." He goes, "They take these young men like Brady, and they, they think they're good pitchers now. After you get all this extra training and stuff, they, they're gonna make them superstars." He said, "This boy is liable to be a superstar." We're gonna wrap it up here. What a great show. How can people follow you? Uh, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook. Uh, what else? I don't know. Twitter. Twitter. Twitter, yeah, Twitter. Yep, yep. Twitter and- Snapchat? Yeah, I got Snapchat too. Oh, Snapchat. Yeah, yep, yep. Oh Lord. So you wanna say anything in closing real quick to, to anybody, the kids out there that wanna become a pro player, football player, baseball player, anything. What do you gotta say to them? Uh, don't, don't, don't set your, don't set your, uh, mind small. Set, set it to the sky and do it. Just run, run, run to it. Don't run away from it. Yep. Set goals. Reach, reach for the stars. Yep. Set goals. Brad, thank you for being a wonderful guest. Thank you, Miss Erica. Thank you upcoming superstar little brother. This has been a wonderful show. We're gonna talk in segment five recipes. These guys love to cook. Mm. And, uh, Miss Erica's gonna share some recipes with us, hopefully how to cook suckers. Closing Thoughts All right? Oh, no. She's- Thank you for listening, and remember this everybody, this world needs more love, not hate. Teach your boys to become men, and teach your girls to become ladies. Have you ever heard the ending of the show? You're gonna love it. Here you go. ♪ When your roots run deep and strong- There's no reason to fear the wind. ♪ ♪ So you never gotta worry what the wind- ♪ Thank you for joining us for today's American Roots Outdoors Radio with Alex Rutledge. You can find us on Facebook. Look us up on the World Wide Web at americanrootsoutdoors.com. We'll be back again next week on this great radio station. Accurate, deadly, dependable, Hornady ammunition. From a two-man operation in 1949 to a world-leading innovator of bullet, ammunition, reloading tool, and accessories design and manufacturer today. Hornady, each piece is hand inspected to ensure consistency and quality. Ammunition engineered to perform flawlessly. Simply put, the best. Hornady ammunition. Find Hornady ammunition at a retailer near you, and at hornady.com Bonus Segment: Cooking Suckers Spindale Arms presents. Welcome back to American Roots Outdoors. This is our bonus segment. If you're listening to this, you're probably listening to it on your favorite podcast carrier. And again, we got 18-year-old Brady Smith and his m- beautiful mother, Erica, that worked in a sawmill, understands hard work as a kid growing up, and the upcoming star little brother Brandon? Yep. And Dad, Brad's on the line. And I know you guys love to cook. Brad, are you the cook or is Erica cook- who does most of the cooking? The day I met Erica, I gained 40 pounds. Yeah. So, so let's, let's, let's talk about cooking suckers. Come up here. Talk about cooking suckers. Uh- That's not me ... uh, Dad, Brad, talk about how you cook suckers and how you prepare them Well, it's, uh, it's f- first, first of all, been a long time, but fir- it's all the, the, the, the preparation of the suckers, the most important thing- Yeah, talk about that as you know. Talk about that. Preparation. There, there's where we get everybody in the Ozarks has got- Jesus ... a good old scoring machine. You know, cost you about $400. Um, and, uh, from there it's just having the right recipe of the cornmeal, and I, and I'm, you know, Uncle Joe's has always been near and dear to my heart. Yeah. And it has been a lot of people over in Carter County. Hillbilly Joe's. If I had my way, that's what, uh, my, now my, uh, my father-in-law, if he was still with us, he'd tell you you gotta add a little Zatarain's in there- Oh, yeah ... to kind of make it, to spice it up. Yeah. Yeah, I, I use the Louisiana. Louisiana cornmeal? Yes. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Let me tell you about a cornmeal. You, uh, Brad, listen, all of you guys. Pomona, Missouri, there's an Amish store. Pomona? Amish store's got the best cornmeal that you'll ever see, and it's finer than regular cornmeal. Brandon Miley, who I fish with a lot, and, uh, he, he, uh, is the one that turned me on to it. You wouldn't believe how it makes the, the flavor of the fish, even the crust of the fish different. So check it out. You can buy it like a five pound bag for three bucks. You can buy a 20 pound bag for, I don't know, 10 bucks, 15, whatever. Yeah, it's finer and it's lighter- Yeah ... so it doesn't tend to fall off the fish. Yeah. But suckers are bottom feeders. I'm gonna talk about that. Suckers are bottom feeders. There's the yellow sucker and the red horse, and there's drum, uh, carp. I'm not a drum eater, I'm not a carp eater. I like yellow suckers and hog suckers. So what you do, you scale them, uh, with a scaling knife, a bu- a spoon, whatever. Get all the scales off of them, and, uh, you can score them and cook them whole with the bones in them. You gut them, of course. And, uh, you score them after you get all the scales off. Take, remove the top fin, the lower fins. And, uh, you take and once you cut them, you slice them within probably a 16th to an eighth of an inch real confined to each other. Then you roll them in cornmeal with seasoning and flavors, then you cook them in oil in a deep fryer. And you slice your potatoes. Everybody likes them different. And I always cook my onions first to flavor the fish, to flavor the potatoes as well. So you fry them to your preference. I love my fish somewhat crispy, not over crispy, but, but done, you know? So that's the way I cook suckers, and that's the way you guys cook them as well. Do you ever do- Oh, yeah. I gotta share one more with you, Brad. A buddy of mine, Chri- Crappie Chris Burkhart from Stockton Lake, Pomona Area Guides Crappie Trips, he's with Slap's Fishing Rods, and this guy brought me some pre-made hush puppies. They got what's called sweet corn, they got jalapeno on there, sweet hush puppies, pre-made, and you cook them with your taters and with your fish. Don't ever cook them individually 'cause you'll burn them. You don't get them done all the way through. By cooking them with other things, it gets them done all the way through. Great show. Yes. Thank you, Brady Smith. I'm your number one fan. Uh-huh. I am too. All right? We're gonna kill a turkey together. Let's do it. And we're gonna do some stuff together. Miss Erica, I love y'all. Thank you. Brad, love you. Love you, little brother. Thank you. And, uh, we're gonna wrap it up here. Again, everybody follow Brady Smith. Wrap-Up & Sign-Off This boy is gonna be the next big thing at the Brewers. Let's all support him, push his family, tell him how proud you are of him. Remember, what does this old world need, Brady? More love. More love, yep. Yeah. Teach your boys to become... Men. Teach your girls to become... Women. Ladies. Ladies. Women. That's good though. That's good, yeah. ♪ Sun ain't up, they ain't down. We'll be waiting when they hit the ground. Big time coming, it's what we do. From a whippoorwill to an old owl's hoot. Sitting still 'til it's time to shoot. American roots. Take it to a holler. Take it to a field. Across a creek and up a hill. ♪ ♪ Hard, so you never gotta worry ♪ ♪ So deep and strong. There's no reason to fear the wind. American roots will rise again. Yeah, I got family and friends and living the truth. American- ♪ ♪ Yeah, God fam ♪