Right-handed pitcher Cade Smith has turned down an offer from the Minnesota Twins and will honor a commitment to play for the University of Hawaii baseball team this coming academic year.

This morning was the deadline for 2017 high school graduates to decide between signing with a pro team and attending college.

The Twins selected Smith in the 16th round of last month’s Major League Baseball draft. Smith, a recent graduate of Mennonite Educational Institute in British Columbia, had signed a letter of intent with UH in November 2016.

“My family and I felt that it was clear that I should go to school and mature and develop,” Smith wrote in a text to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “and I look forward to doing that.”

Smith is 6 feet 5, 230 pounds and capable of throwing a fastball 93 mph. He played for Canada’s junior national team last year.

“We think he’s going to be good for us,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said.