Smith returns to the Bears for his sixth season in a Newark uniform and his 10th season in professional baseball. The Kearny, NJ native has amassed 155 innings pitched in 60 careers games for the Bears with 115 strikeouts. He set career bests in 2000 with 39 appearances, 66 innings pitched, 50 strikeouts, three wins, and two saves for the Bears. Smith helped the Bears claim the organization's second-ever Atlantic Championship as a member of the 2007 team. He finished the season with a record of 1-0, a 7.08 ERA and 28 Ks.

Smith was originally signed by the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League in 1998 out of Rutgers University.