University of South Dakota Athletics

Craig Smith led the University of South Dakota men’s basketball program to new heights in 2016-17, his third year with the program, leading the Coyotes to their first Summit League Regular Season Championship.

After being picked seventh in the Preseason Coaches Poll, Smith coached the Coyotes to a 12-4 conference record to earn league Coach of the Year honors while playing to a 22-12 overall record. After the season, Smith earned NABC District 12 Coach of the Year honors while coaching Matt Mooney, the Summit League Transfer of the Year, to First Team All-District 12 honors.

The 2016-17 campaign also saw Tyler Flack, along with Mooney, earn First Team All-Summit League status. Trey Burch-Manning, Trey Dickerson, along with Mooney, captured three of the five spots on the All-Newcomer Team.

Smith, a former NAIA National Coach of the Year, was named the 17^th head coach in South Dakota’s men’s basketball history in the spring of 2014 after spending two years as an assistant coach at Nebraska.

In his first year at the helm of the Coyotes, Smith guided South Dakota to 17 wins and a fourth place finish in the league after being picked eighth behind the emergence of senior guard Tyler Larson, who became the first Coyote to earn First Team All-Summit League honors. Larson was one of three players in the nation who averaged at least 14 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

The 2015-16 campaign included a road victory at Minnesota, snapping a then 47-game home nonconference winning streak ranking second in the nation for the Gophers, along with a road victory at Milwaukee and against Florida Gulf Coast inside the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Smith also captured his 100^th career coaching victory with a win over Oral Roberts on Feb. 6, 2016.

South Dakota is Smith’s second head coaching gig, having previously served as head coach at Mayville State University in North Dakota, compiling a 72-29 record and advancing to three-straight NAIA II National Tournaments from 2004-07. The Comets were 1-25 the season before Smith’s arrival and competed in the NAIA National Championship game in the third season under Smith.

After winning 17 games in his first season at MSU, the Comets set a school record for victories with 28 while winning the Dakota Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. Mayville State advanced to the national quarterfinals before falling to the eventual national champions.

In 2007, Smith was named the NAIA II National Coach of the Year when the Comets defended their regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the National Championship game. It marked the first time any men’s basketball team from North Dakota had ever played for a national title. Smith also earned DAC Coach of the Year honors in both 2006 and 2007.

Tim Miles brought Smith on board his staff at Colorado State ahead of the 2007-08 season and named Smith an assistant coach the following year. It was the third program Smith had served as an assistant for Miles with prior stints at Mayville State in 1996-97 and North Dakota State from 2001-04. The fourth program was Nebraska where the duo worked the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns. They went to the NCAA Tournament two times, once at Colorado State in 2012 and once at Nebraska in 2014.

Smith is a Stephen, Minnesota, native and a 1996 graduate of the University of North Dakota where he earned his degree in secondary education. He earned his master’s degree in teaching and learning from Northern State, where he served as a graduate assistant for the 1997-98 season. The Wolves reached their first-ever Elite Eight that season.

Smith and his wife, Darcy, have three sons: Landon, Brady and Carson along with a daughter, Lauren.
 

Craig Smith Fast Facts

Hometown: Stephen, Minnesota
Spouse: Darcy
Children: Three sons, Landon, Brady and Carson; One daughter, Lauren
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education, University of North Dakota; Master’s degree in teaching and learning, Northern State University
First Victory: November 19, 2004 vs Pillsbury Baptist Bible College 78-38
100^th Victory: February 6, 2016 vs Oral Roberts 91-79

Head Coaching Resume