This one has been out there for a while. It’s finally official…here’s the announcement from Lamar on the hiring of Aaron Smith as an assistant basketball coach:
Aaron Smith has been named assistant coach announced Lamar University head men’s basketball coach Jordan Fee Thursday morning. Smith becomes Fee’s first assistant coach hire since taking over the program.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Aaron Smith to our staff, bringing with him deep Texas ties and a proven track record of success as a head coach,” said Fee. “His ability to lead and develop players and build winning cultures will have an immediate impact on our program.
“Beyond the court, Aaron is a man of strong character who prioritizes family and embraces his role as a father with pride. That balance of competitive excellence and personal values makes him a perfect fit for what we are building here. Please join us in welcoming Coach Smith, his wife Keri, and their daughter Nicole to Beaumont, Texas,” added Fee.
Known as a recruiter, Smith was one of the top junior college coaches in the country before making the jump to the Division I level where he has spent the past four seasons serving as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic, Longwood and Louisiana Tech.
Smith makes is way to the Golden Triangle from FAU where he spent the previous season working alongside Fee. During his time in Boca Raton, Smith signed the highest-rated prospect in program history – Josiah Parker – a four-star athlete (247Sports.com) who was ranked 68th nationally.
Smith joined the FAU staff after one year at Longwood. During his lone season in Farmville, Va., he helped secure the best recruiting class in program history – an SEC transfer, two A-10 transfers, two former 4-star prospects, a Missouri Valley All-Freshman team selection and an NCAA Division II All-American. The Lancers also improved their field goal percentage by 122 places in the national rankings which was the highest percentage in the seven-year Griff Aldrich Era.
Smith got his start at the NCAA Division I level in 2022 when he joined the staff at Louisiana Tech. During his time in Ruston, Smith secured the 42nd-ranked recruiting class in the country (according to Rivals.com). That class was also considered the second-best mid-major class in the country. The Bulldogs produced the top-ranked offense in Conference USA during his time on staff as well as the league’s top-ranked scoring defense (16th nationally).
Prior to his jump to the Division I level, Smith spent seven seasons at the junior college level serving as head coach at Jacksonville College and Panola College. During his three seasons at Panola he posted 55 wins, built one of the most productive offenses in the country, produced a regional semifinalist and multiple teams ranked in the NJCAA top 25.
Those numbers coming on the heels of a four-year stretch at Jacksonville where he posted three 20-win seasons, won 79 games, a two-time NJCAA Region XIV quarterfinalist and a South Zone Champion. For his efforts he was named TexasJucoBasketball.com’s Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
