Axel Smith played baseball under current Tar Heel skipper Mike Fox at North Carolina Wesleyan where he was a member of the 1989 NCAA Division-III National Championship team.

Smith played his prep baseball at JH Rose high school from 1985-1988. His senior year his team finished up ranked 5th in the Nation by USA Today.

From 1998-2006 Smith managed the Hurricanes AAU baseball team based out of Greenville, NC. His 13U team won the AAU National Championship in 2004. Nine players from that team are currently playing college baseball.

Smith is currently an assistant coach at South Central high school in Winterville, NC. Smith is married with three children. His son Aaron currently plays baseball for Pfieffer University.