Baseball gloves and lab coats don’t usually overlap, but for Whitehall grad Christian Smolen, they’ve both been part of the uniform. The former Viking and Siena Heights pitcher has officially stepped out of the bullpen and into a brand-new arena — medical school.
Smolen is now a first-year student at Wayne State University, diving into one of the most competitive programs in the state. Out of more than 9,500 applicants, he was one of the select few accepted — joining a school ranked among Michigan’s very best. For Christian, the grind is nothing new. He’s been balancing high expectations his whole life, whether it was a loaded baseball schedule, honors-level academics, or chasing his dream of medicine.
At Siena Heights, Smolen showed the rare ability to dominate in two different arenas at once. On the field, he logged 25 ⅔ innings in his senior season with a 4.91 ERA — third-best on the team — while holding opposing hitters to a .245 batting average. In conference play, that number dipped to .217, ranking him 28th out of more than 230 pitchers in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Add in a career record of 3-1 and three trips to the postseason, and his baseball résumé speaks for itself.
Off the field? Even stronger. Smolen posted a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biology major, earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors three times, and somehow managed to juggle the heavy workload of both baseball and pre-med. He describes the rush of seeing a high grade posted as not unlike the rush of striking out a batter in a high-leverage situation.
Growing up in Whitehall, Smolen can’t remember a single “aha” moment where medicine clicked. It was more like a steady current.
“I watched a lot of science and medicine on TV as a kid, and it just kept building,” he said.
With two parents in the medical field, those conversations never stayed in the background. His questions at home turned into family discussions that shaped the way he thought about the world.
But while medicine was always in the picture, sports filled his day-to-day. At Whitehall, he excelled on the tennis courts, earning first-team all-state honors in doubles with Ryan Findorff. On the baseball field, he built the toughness and time management skills that would eventually carry him through the pressures of pre-med.
At Siena Heights, he found the balance. Three-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. A perfect 4.0 GPA in biology. A senior season where he threw 25 ⅔ innings with a 4.91 ERA, limiting opposing hitters to a .245 average — second-best on the team — and an even stingier .217 in conference play, good for 28th out of more than 230 pitchers in the WHAC.
“I love baseball and I love medicine,” Smolen said. “Part of me is glad I can now put 100% into my medical journey, but another part of me misses the field. Baseball was where I could block out the stress.”
For Smolen, the parallels between sports and medicine are clear. “The two biggest lessons I’m using right now are time management and teamwork,” he explained. His schedule is crammed with lectures, labs, volunteering, and study hours — but it feels familiar. “As a college baseball player, my schedule was hectic too. I learned how to manage my time and how to communicate with teammates, and those skills carry over every day.”
He also connects the dots between high-pressure moments.
“Doing well on an exam feels a lot like getting a big strikeout,” he said. “And when things don’t go your way — when you miss a question or have a bad outing — you have to reset and get back to work.”
That mindset has helped him settle into Wayne State. Passing his first block and performing well on his initial exams gave him early confidence.
“It was the same feeling as putting together a good outing on the mound,” Smolen said.
The announcement that Siena Heights will close after the 2025-26 school year hit hard. For Smolen, it means the physical place he called home for four years will be gone.
“I’m lucky I’m not directly affected,” he said, “but Siena Heights was somewhere I thought I’d always visit again. I’m glad the closing doesn’t take away the people I met — those connections last forever.”
His dad, Ron — a proud SportsNut on the CatchMark crew — echoed that sentiment.
“Think how it would feel if your high school closed,” Ron said. “We’ve made so many friendships there. The memories are ours, but the place won’t be.”
When Smolen pictures his future, it’s clear he wants to bring his journey full circle.
“My ideal career in 10–15 years would be as an internal medicine subspecialist in private practice,” he said. “I want good work-life balance so I can enjoy life while practicing medicine. And I’d love to come back to West Michigan. It’s beautiful here, and it’s home.”
He’s already proving he knows how to balance life outside the classroom. A big foodie, Smolen has built a TikTok presence reviewing restaurants and trying new spots (smo.eatss if your wondering) — a creative outlet that keeps him grounded while juggling his workload.
And when it comes to connecting baseball and medicine, he sees more overlap than you’d think.
“Baseball taught me how to deal with stress, how to communicate with teammates, and how to fail and bounce back,” Smolen said. “Those lessons are just as important in medicine.”
Smolen’s proudest moments span both the field and the classroom: a relief appearance in his junior year that snapped an eight-game losing streak, helping the Saints qualify for their first postseason since 2012. Organizing a meningitis awareness event that earned him recognition on campus. Passing his first med school block at Wayne State.
From the outside, it’s easy to call him a do-it-all guy. But for Smolen, it comes down to one simple formula: keep working, keep learning, and keep competing. Whether it’s a batter in the box or a patient in need, he’ll be ready.
From Whitehall to Siena Heights to Wayne State, the jersey may have changed, but the mentality hasn’t: show up, put in the work, and find a way to win.
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