Daniel Smith was one of the first players to compete at Cooperstown Dreams Park. He was a member of the Carolina Flame All Stars (NC) which played during the first week Cooperstown Dreams Park hosted teams in 1996. He attended high school at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, NC where he was a member of the baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling teams. During his four years of varsity competition, Daniel received the Coach's Award (2000, 2003), MVP of Easter tournament (2002) and All Conference honors (2001, 2003). Daniel helped his teams clinch Southern Piedmont Conference (SPC) titles in 2001 and 2003.

Daniel continued his baseball career at Surry Community College (Dobson, NC). Over a two-year period (2005-2006), the team posted a 98-14 record. Daniel was named to the All Region X 1st team both seasons. He was also selected to participate in the 2005 All-star, a 2006 pre-season NJCAA All American selection and was runner up for Player of the Year Region X in 2006. He completed his collegiate career with a .410 BA, 20 strikeouts (out of 333 ABs), 115 RBI, and 15 home runs.

After receiving his two-year degree from Surry Community College, Daniel was a firefighter from 2006-2008 in Salisbury, NC. He attended basic law enforcement training in 2009 and is now a police officer at Livingstone College (Salisbury, NC). In addition to his job, Daniel coaches the AAU 13U Charlotte Megastars and has given back to his high school by volunteering as an assistant baseball coach.