Kyle Smith has been named the 19th men’s basketball coach in Washington State history, Director of Athletics Pat Chun announced Wednesday, March 27. Smith was signed to a six-year contract at $1.4 million annually and will be introduced formally at a press conference Monday, April 1. Details of the press conference will be released later this week.
“We set a goal of finding the best head coach for Washington State University,” said Chun. “Kyle Smith fulfilled all of our criteria in meeting this goal. Coach Smith has a proven record of success, a commitment to academic excellence and a passion for developing every aspect of his student-athletes. The methodology he has created in building basketball programs for sustainable excellence is like none other in the sport. We are fortunate to have Kyle leading our program and welcome his wife Katie, along with their sons Rocco, Bo and Luke to the Cougar Family.”
Smith brings nine years of head coaching experience to the Palouse along with 18 years as an assistant coach. He comes to WSU having spent the last three seasons at the helm of the University of San Francisco men’s basketball program. There he compiled a 164-40 (.612) record, notching 20 or more wins each season and two postseason tournament appearances. Smith’s three-straight 20-win seasons marked just the fourth time in school history that USF had 20 or more wins in at least three-consecutive seasons and the first time in nearly 40 years.Prior to his stint in the Bay Area, he served as the head coach at Columbia where he put together a 101-82 overall mark including a CIT Championship his final season (2015-16).
“I was really impressed during the hiring process with Pat [Chun] and his team,” said Smith. “Being married to a Washingtonian myself, it really felt like home, there was just a lot of synergy in the room. I also had an opportunity to meet with WSU President Kirk Schulz, who was very impressive. To have a president like that who’s so in tune with athletics is very exciting and I’m ready to be a part of it.”
“When I think of Washington State basketball, I think of the great coaches that have been there, going back to Marv Harshman, George Raveling, Kelvin Sampson and then Tony Bennett, to name a few,” Smith continued. “The most recent success being Tony Bennett, who actually offered me a job when his dad left and he was appointed head coach. I’ve followed Tony’s career and he and I have often recruited some of the same types of players. He’s obviously done great things and he’s always been kind of a mentor of mine. I just hope I can honor the tradition of those coaches that came before me.”
This past season, 2018-19, the Dons finished with a 21-10 mark and 9-7 West Coast Conference record, finishing fourth in the league. In Smith’s second season, 2017-18, he led USF to a 22-17 mark and a tie for fourth in the WCC with a 9-9 league record. In his first season on the Hilltop (2016-17), Smith led the Dons to a 20-13 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in the WCC, tying for fourth. It marked the first 20-win season since the 2013-14 season and the program’s third since the 1985-86 season. The wins were also the most by a first-year USF head coach since Pete Barry led the Dons to a 24-7 record in 1980-81. All three seasons under Smith saw USF finish fourth in the WCC, while it advanced to the CBI in both 2016-17 and 2017-18, including a runner-up finish in 2018.
In his three seasons at USF, Smith’s teams defeated three Pac-12 schools, including wins over both California and Stanford in 2018-19 and a defeat of Utah in the Diamond Head Classic in 2016-17. The Dons broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a season in both 2017-18 and 2016-17 with 333 and 304 3-pointers made, respectively. San Francisco also improved defensively under Smith, lowering its opponent scoring average by more than 10.0 points per game his first season from the previous season (2015-16).
Throughout his tenure at San Francisco, Smith produced seven All-West Coast Conference selections, including two-time first team honoree Frankie Ferrari, two second team honorees and three all-freshman. Ferrari also picked up NABC District 9 All-Region Second Team honors in 2019 as his 73 3-pointers rank third in school history.
Prior to his arrival at USF, Smith served as the head coach at Columbia for six seasons, guiding the Lions to a 101-82 overall record and two postseason appearances. The 101 victories were the most in a six-year span at Columbia since the program posted 107 victories from 1965-71. In his final season (2015-16), Columbia finished with a 25-10 record, third in the Ivy League with a 10-4 mark, and captured the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship with a 73-67 victory over UC Irvine in the title game. The Lions became only the second Ivy League team to win a postseason tournament after Princeton’s 1975 National Invitation Tournament Championship.
The 25 victories established a single-season school record while the 10 Ivy League victories were the most by a Columbia team since the 1992-93 squad also went 10-4 in the Ivy. It was Columbia’s second 20-win season in three years under Smith, who also guided the Lions to a 21-13 record during the 2013-14 season.
During his last three seasons at Columbia, the Lions compiled a 59-38 (.608) overall record. The 59 wins tied Princeton for the third-highest total in the Ivy League behind Yale (64) and Harvard (63).
During his six-year tenure, Smith also developed 10 players who earned All-Ivy League honors, including Maodo Lo, a two-time All-Ivy First Team recipient who ranks as the Lions second all-time leading scorer and holds the school-record for three-pointers made.
Prior to his appointment at Columbia in May of 2010, Smith spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach on the NCAA Division I level, including nine seasons (2001-10) at Saint Mary’s College, one season at Air Force (2000-01) and eight years at the University of San Diego (1992-2000).
While at Saint Mary’s, Smithplayed an integral role in building the Gaels’ program into a perennial championship contender in the West Coast Conference. In his nine seasons in Moraga, the Gaels made three NCAA Tournament (2005, ’08, ’10) appearances and earned one NIT (2009) bid. Saint Mary’s averaged 23 wins over his last six seasons on the staff, including an 81-20 record over his final three seasons. In 2009-10, Saint Mary’s finished with a 28-6 record, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship and were ranked 19th nationally in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. As the associate head coach under Randy Bennett, Smith was also responsible for coordinating the team’s offense and played a key role in the recruitment of all-conference players such as Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills, Diamon Simpson and Mickey McConnell. Mills (San Antonio) and Dellavedova (Cleveland) are currently playing in the NBA.
During his one season at Air Force, Smith served as the Falcons’ offensive and recruiting coordinator and also took a lead role with player development and scouting. He was instrumental in the recruitment of 2003-04 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Nick Welch along with all-conference players Antoine Hood and A.J. Kuhle.
Before joining the Falcons, Smith served eight seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego from 1992-2000 under Hank Egan and Brad Holland. During his time at San Diego, Smith helped lead the Toreros to their second-highest win total in school history (20 in 1999-2000) and as associate head coach, orchestrated a defense that allowed the lowest opponent scoring average (62.6) in the West Coast Conference (62.6 in 1999-2000).
Born in El Paso, Texas, Smith graduated in 1992 from Hamilton College with a degree in English literature. He also played basketball and helped lead the Continentals to a 26-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in the nation for NCAA Division III as a junior. He shot a school-record 51.3 percent from three-point range and helped Hamilton to an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship.
Smith also earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of San Diego, where he began his coaching career. Kyle and his wife, Katie, have three sons, Rocco, Bo and Luke.
“I’m just really excited to be associated with Washington State and the Pac-12 and to be able to compete at the highest level. It’s truly an honor and I’m just really excited to get after it, said Smith.”
