Cam Smith has never forgotten what it took for his mother to get him to the ballpark, and now he’s turning that memory into a mission.
Raised in Florida by his mother, Stephanie Hocza, the Astros right fielder watched up close what single mothers carry every day. The baseball expenses were one thing, but the bigger burden was the grind of keeping a family moving, from clothes to meals to everything in between. Smith says that experience is exactly why he wants to help other single-mom households now that he has the means to do it.
That effort officially began Monday night in Houston, where Smith launched the Cam Smith Foundation at a boutique event. Several Astros teammates showed up to support him, including Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews. The foundation will focus on supporting single mothers and their children through meaningful experiences, mentorship, community partnerships and direct support.
“I’m so excited,” Smith said. “I couldn’t wait for this day.
Obviously I’m helping out the single-mother households and that community itself because I was one of those kids. I’m happy to start and get it going.”
The event was also designed to raise thousands of dollars through auction items, including baseballs, jerseys and bats signed by Smith and some of his teammates. Even Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan contributed items for the auction.
Hocza, who works as a data processor at Palm Beach Central High School, was the person who told Smith he had made the Major League roster for the first time before the 2025 season. She had been invited into the Spring Training clubhouse, and Smith got the news from the same person who had spent years making sure he could chase his dream.
“All of her free time was really taken away by me, obviously for good reason,” Smith said. “Just thinking about it 15 years down the road, she didn’t have any free time.
It was always me. We would play tournaments every single weekend and be in different cities, different states, and she found a way to get me there.
She found a way to make my dreams come true.”
Smith’s path to Houston has moved quickly. The Cubs picked him 14th overall in the 2024 Draft, and he was traded to the Astros that December in the Kyle Tucker deal.
He then turned a strong spring into a place on Houston’s Opening Day roster and has held down right field ever since. Across two seasons, he has hit .222/.294/.375 with 30 homers and 107 RBIs, and he has finished as a Gold Glove finalist in right field twice after never having played the position before the spring of ’25.
Hocza, a regular presence at Smith’s games, could not make Monday’s event, but Smith made clear this is only the beginning for the foundation.
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