Southwest Minnesota State University head men’s basketball coach Brad Bigler has announced that Nick Smith has been named the new assistant men’s basketball coach at SMSU.
Smith has been on the coaching staff at SMSU the past four seasons, including two seasons as a graduate assistant and the past two seasons as a part-time assistant. Smith replaces Tramel Barnes, who resigned this past spring to accept an assistant coaching position at Utah State University.
“Fans may have forgotten, but Nick committed to playing at SMSU when I was a 30-year-old interim head coach,” Bigler said. “That loyalty has never been forgotten. Nick defines what being a Mustang is, with how he serves others. His experience as a player and coach at SMSU has prepared him for this next step. We can’t wait until the school year starts to begin the next chapter.”
During the past two seasons, Smith has helped SMSU to a pair of NSIC South Division championships and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. SMSU has won a combined 53 games the last two seasons, which include an NSIC Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Central Region championship game in 2017.
Prior to joining the coaching staff, Smith completed a standout four-year playing career at SMSU (2010-14) and ranks as one of the best players in program history. Smith closed his career appearing in 117 games with 101 starts and was a member of SMSU’s 2012 NSIC tournament championship team and NCAA tournament team. His name is all over the program record book, as he currently ranks first in career blocked shots (174), sixth in field goal pct. (54.4), seventh in rebounds (712), 11th in field goals made (481) and 13th in points (1,192).
Smith, a two-time All-NSIC second team honoree, was also named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2014 and was twice named SMSU’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“My family and I are extremely grateful to Director of Athletics Chris Hmielewski and Coach Bigler for the opportunity to continue to coach here at SMSU,” Smith said. “I have been very blessed to be a part of this incredible community for the past eight years, and learn from some pretty amazing people during my time here. It has been an incredible experience to be able to work with Coach Bigler and Coach Barnes over these last few years, and I am very excited to continue to help grow the Mustang men’s basketball tradition going forward.”
Smith, originally from Johnston, Iowa, is a 2014 graduate of SMSU with a degree in sports management and finance. He earned his master’s degree at SMSU in business administration in 2016.
https://smsumustangs.com/news/2018/7/19/nick-smith-named-assistant-coach-for-smsu-mens-basketball.aspx
