UA Fort Smith Athletics

            Craig Gentry was perhaps the most versatile local high school athlete of his time.
            The Van Buren, Ark., native played about every sport tiny Fort Smith Christian High School offered, and he was a household name to fans and foes alike throughout the River Valley prep sports community, excelling in basketball, track, golf and, most notably, baseball.
            As a senior, Gentry helped lead Class A Fort Smith Christian to its only state baseball championship in 2002, beating rival Scranton 2-1 in the championship game.
            As great a high school baseball player as Gentry was, he was hardly even recruited by NCAA Division I programs or any college program for that matter. Needless to say, that made for an easy sales pitch for longtime UAFS baseball coach Dale Harpenau, who saw great potential in Gentry as a center fielder.
            “The thing that jumped out at me about Craig was that he was such a tremendous athlete. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do as far as athletics were concerned, whether it was dunk a basketball or go out and hit a golf ball. He just possessed athleticism,” Harpenau said. “I felt like once he focused on one sport – baseball – that the sky was the limit for him when it came to how far he could go in the game.”
            During the two seasons Gentry patrolled the outfield for the Lions, he led UAFS to a 62-36 win-loss record with consecutive appearances in the NJCAA Region II Tournament. He batted more than .300 and stole more than 30 bases each season and was named All-Conference and All-Region.
            “We are blessed and fortunate that he came here to be a part of our program. He’s a great kid and comes from a great family. His mom and dad are super people,” Harpenau said. “It does me good to see a good kid do well.”
            Gentry signed with Arkansas after his sophomore season and later that summer was drafted by the San Francisco Giants. He didn’t sign with the Giants and went on to play two seasons for the Razorbacks.
            At Arkansas, he batted better than .300 with 27 doubles, four triples and four home runs and stole 34 bases. He helped lead the Razorbacks to a combined 78-43 overall record and consecutive NCAA Region Tournament appearances.
            After his senior season, he was selected in the 10^th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Texas Rangers. After toiling in the Rangers farm system for 2 ½ years, he made his professional debut with the Rangers on Sept. 6, 2009. Gentry quickly became a regular on the Rangers’ roster and played in consecutive World Series (2010-11), becoming the first UAFS baseball player to play in back-to-back World Series.