Adam Smith, the assistant baseball coach for Spruce Creek High School, was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Port Orange on May 10, according to a friend of the coach.
“The news has been so devastating especially for our boys (baseball players),” said Christen, a Port Orange parent, in an interview with The News-Journal on May 11.
Smith was also the team’s catcher’s coach, Christen said.
“My son is a catcher, so this has hit him really hard,” Christen said.
On her GoFundMe page, Christen wrote that Coach Adam “Stump” Smith has been a fixture in Volusia County baseball.
Christen wrote that Smith previously was a coach at New Smyrna Beach High School and also a coach at DeLand High School.
“Beloved by players and coaches around town, ‘Stump’ (Smith) knew the game and had a bright future as a coach. Please help us raise money to help his family offset funeral expenses,” the GoFundMe page reads.
Port Orange police said fatal crash occurred early May 10
Port Orange police said the crash occurred around 3:52 a.m., with officers arriving at the scene of to find a vehicle had crashed into the tree line on Yorktowne Boulevard.
Authorities still have yet to release the name of the victim.
Port Orange mother said she and some players learn of coach’s death while on weekend getaway
Christen said she had taken her son, Joe Christen, a catcher on the team, and five other friends on a weekend getaway to decompress after Spruce Creek lost to Oviedo’s Hagerty High School in a regional playoff game on May 3.
Another parent called Christen early Sunday to let her know that Smith had died in a crash, she said.
“I woke up the boys to tell them the heartbreaking news because I didn’t want them to wake up and open their phones and see the sad news,” an emotional Christen said. “I will never forget the look on their faces. As a mother, it’s a look you don’t want to see.”
On May 11, Spruce Creek High School Principal Dr. Todd Sparger held a moment of silence for Smith, Christen said.
Spruce Creek High School head baseball coach said Adam Smith was the ‘best young coach’
Reached by telephone on May 11, the head baseball coach for Spruce Creek High School, Matt Cleveland, said Smith’s death has shaken the entire baseball community in Volusia County.
News of Smith’s death was especially devastating to the young baseball players on the team because he had such a good relationship with them, Cleveland said.
“He was a young guy, so all the young players got along really well with him,” Cleveland said.
“He was only 26, but he is the best young coach I’ve known,” Cleveland said. “He knew the kids and he knew how to get the best out of them, and he did it quietly and respectfully.”
Smith worked hard to get the high school’s baseball team to state championship matches in 2021 and 2023. The team also made it to regional finals in 2025, Cleveland said.
Cleveland said he was called by the baseball team’s pitching coach on Sunday morning with the news of Smith’s passing.
“It’s more than just devastating,” Cleveland said. “We are trying to put one foot in front of the other and trying to be there for the kids.”
Cleveland said Smith is “one of the irreplaceable guys.”
“He was one of my friends,” Cleveland said. “We are all hurting and trying to move forward and honor him in our business.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spruce Creek baseball coach dies in Port Orange crash, friend says
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
