South Dakota State hired longtime Southwest Minnesota State coach Nick Smith as an assistant coach on Bryan Petersen‘s inaugural staff the Jackrabbit head coach announced.
Smith spent 12 seasons as an assistant at SMSU and the previous four seasons as the program’s associate head coach.
“We are super excited to welcome Nick and his family to Jackrabbit men’s basketball,” Petersen said. “Nick brings a championship level of playing and coaching experience to our program. He will make a major impact in all phases of our program moving forward!”
The Mustangs are coming off a 2024-25 season in which they won a share of the NSIC regular season title serving as the third for the program in its history. The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. SMSU spent eight weeks ranked in the NABC Top 25 reaching as high as 13th during the campaign. The Mustangs closed NSIC play this past year ranking first in the conference in scoring defense (66.0) and field goal percentage defense (41.5).
Smith’s time as a coach for his alma mater saw Southwest Minnesota State win a pair of NSIC South Division Championships, appear in four NCAA Tournaments and play in three NSIC Tournament championship games while winning one.
Prior to joining the SMSU coaching staff, Smith was a standout over the course of four years for the Mustangs under current head coach Brad Bigler. Smith was a three-year captain for the Mustangs as he played in 117 games and made 101 starts. He was a member of SMSU’s 2012 NSIC tournament championship and NCAA tournament team.
Despite his graduation in 2014, Smith still ranks among the best in Mustang history in several categories. Smith ranks first in career blocked shots (174), fourth in field goal percentage (54.4%), fifth in rebounds (712), ninth in field goals (481) and 10th in points (1,192). He was a two-time All-NSIC Second Team honoree, was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2014 and was twice named SMSU’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Smith holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southwest Minnesota State. Nick will be joined in Brookings alongside his wife Bree, as well as their sons, Cashton and Crew, and daughter, Carsyn.
South Dakota State adds Nick Smith to Men’s Basketball Staff
