Dalton Smith joined the South Dakota women's basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in October of 2025.
During his first season with the Coyotes, South Dakota saw the second-best turnaround in Division I, going 26-10 with a trip to the WNIT Fab Four for the second time in program history. He helped the Coyotes earn six conference honors, including a first teamer, a second teamer, and the conference Newcomer of the Year.
Smith, a former student assistant with Eighmey at Nebraska-Kearney, comes to USD after three seasons at Kansas State, where he was the director of video operations and analytics for the Wildcats. Prior to Kansas State, Smith was a graduate assistant at Wayne State (Neb.).
While in Manhattan, Smith’s duties included editing film for the coaches and players, assisting with collecting and editing film of recruits, arranging Zooms with recruits, summer camps, and film exchange with opponents.
As a graduate assistant at Wayne State, Smith worked with a pair of North Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) South Division Players of the Year and three all-conference athletes. He was also tasked with assisting in recruiting, organizing offseason workouts, and the team’s academic success plan.
Smith was a three-year student assistant for Eighmey’s Lopers, who registered 62 wins and 12 all-conference selections in those three years.
He earned his bachelors in Heath and Physical Education from Nebraska-Kearney in 2020 and his masters in Organization Management from Wayne State in 2022.
