Kyle Smith was named the 19th men’s basketball coach in Washington State history on March 27, 2019.
Coach Smith enters the 2023-24 season in his fifth season at the helm of the Cougars. In his first four seasons at WSU, Smith achieved what no other coach in program history has, posting a .500 or better record in his first four seasons, after taking over a sub-.500 club. Smith has rebuilt the Cougars in his image, establishing themselves as an up-and-coming force in west coast basketball. In addition, he posted back-to-back winning seasons, the first time in over a decade at WSU.
The 2022-23 season had high expectations before preseason injuries plagued the Cougs throughout the year. Despite the complications, Smith guided the Cougars to a 17-17 record and a second-consecutive postseason appearance for the first time in over a decade, earning a bid to the NIT after a run to the tournament semifinals the previous season. Under Smith, the Cougars set the school’s single-game 3-point field goals, blitzing Detroit Mercy with 18 made field goals from behind the arc. Sophomore Mouhamed Gueye, an eventual second round pick and rookie with the Atlanta Hawks, spearheaded Washington State.
In 2021-22, his third year on the Palouse, Smith led the Cougs back to heights not seen in over a decade at WSU. At the helm, Smith led his Cougs to a 22-15 overall record while finishing tied for fifth in the Pac-12 at 11-9 in conference play. The 22 wins were the most for the Cougs since the 2010-11 seasons while the it was the first winning season in conference play and the team's best finish in Pac play since the 2007-08 season. With their mark, the Cougs earned the team's first postseason berth in over a decade, earning a trip to the NIT where they would play their way to Madison Square Garden and the tournament's semifinal round.
Additionally, throughout the 2021-22 campaign the Cougs posted the largest win in program history over Idaho and the third largest win in program history, defeating their Palouse rival, 109-61, Nov. 18, 2021. The team would be the first to beat Utah on the road since 1946, winning in Salt Lake City, 77-61, Jan. 8, 2022. In addition, Smith became the first Coug coach to sweep the season series against the Utes all-time. He would tack on a win over Colorado in late January becoming the first WSU coach to sweep the home weekend series against the Mountain Schools. The sweeps would continue as the Cougs swept Stanford and Cal in the Bay Area for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
Along the way, the Cougs continued their ascent to the upper-eschelon of collegiate basketball proving themselves on both ends of the court. Defensively the Cougs were among the elite in the country allowing 64.9 points per game and finished 28th in the country in defensive rating at 93.3 per 100 possessions. (DI average was 102.9). WSU allowed less than 60 points or less 12 times on the year and went 10-2 in those games. As a team the Cougs played a record 37 games on the year. The long run allowed the Cougs to make 331 three-pointers the second most all-time on 989 attempts the most all-time. Additionally, the team posted a program record 165 team blocks and grabbed a record 1,375 rebounds.
On the recruiting trail, Smith and his staff have put together a pair of top 60 ranked recruiting classes, the highest-ranked classes for WSU in over a decade. He has also led the Cougars to four wins in six meetings against cross-state rival Washington, becoming just the fourth coach at WSU to sweep UW in his first season on the Palouse. In 2021-22, he signed the second-highest rated recruit in program history, Adrame Diongue, trailing only the legend Klay Thompson in prep signings.
Playing against the odds and in a Covid-19 altered season, Smith and his Cougs posted a 14-13 record on the court in 2020-21 producing the first winning season for WSU since the 2011-12 campaign. Each win was hard-fought for the Cougs as WSU defeated five NCAA tournament teams including wins over UCLA, which reached the 2021 NCAA Championship semifinal game, and Oregon and Oregon State, which each made the Sweet Sixteen.
In his brief tenure, Smith has already put together a long list of signature wins that include becoming the first Cougar head coach to lead his team to a win over Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena last season. The win over the Ducks was the second big win for Smith and the Cougs in two years as WSU downed No. 8 Oregon, Jan. 16, 2020, at Pullman, 72-61, the year prior. The victory marked WSU's first win over a top-10 opponent in over a decade. Additionally, the Cougs rolled into the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament and defeated Colorado for their first tournament victory since 2009 while becoming the first 11-seed to win an opening tournament game.
In a stellar first season at WSU, Smith led the Cougs to a 16-16 overall record and 6-12 in Pac-12 play, surpassing both win totals from the season prior. The 16 wins were the most since the 2011-12 season and the first time the team had finished a season .500 or better since that same year. He picked up his first win at WSU in his first game as the Cougs defeated Seattle U, 85-54, Nov. 7, 2019. The 31-point win marked the largest margin of victory in the modern era for a Coug head coach in his debut. The debut was the second biggest win for a freshman head coach trailing only legendary coach Jack Friel’s 44-point win in his debut against Lewiston State (62-18) in 1928.
Throughout the year, Smith picked up his first signature win Jan. 16 as the Cougars defeated #8 Oregon, 72-61, in Pullman. The win was the Cougs' first over a top-10 team in over a decade snapping a 19-game streak against the top-10. Additionally, the team split the season series with UCLA, both games going to overtime. The OT win over UCLA, Jan. 4, was the first Pac-12 win for the Cougs’ new head coach. Against their rivals, the Cougs came up big, sweeping the Huskies for the first time since 2017. At home against UW, the Cougs defeated the Huskies, 79-67, in Smith's first Apple Cup contest, Feb. 9, the second-largest margin of victory over the Huskies in over a decade.
To cap off his inaugural season, Smith led the Cougs to an 82-68 win over Colorado in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament, March 11. The win marked the first time WSU won its final game of the season since 2001-02. In addition, the Cougs win in round one was WSU's first win at the Pac-12 Tournament since 2009 as they became the first 11-seed to win in the opening round in Pac-12 Tournament history.
Smith brought nine years of head coaching experience to the Palouse along with 18 years as an assistant coach. He came to WSU having spent the prior three seasons at the helm of the University of San Francisco men’s basketball program. There he compiled a 63-40 (.612) record, notching 20 or more wins each season and two postseason tournament appearances. Smith’s three-straight 20-win seasons marked just the fourth time in school history that USF had 20 or more wins in at least three-consecutive seasons and the first time in nearly 40 years.Prior to his stint in the Bay Area, he served as the head coach at Columbia where he put together a 101-82 overall mark including a CIT Championship his final season (2015-16).
In his last season at USF in 2018-19, the Dons finished with a 21-10 mark and 9-7 West Coast Conference record, finishing fourth in the league. In Smith’s second season, 2017-18, he led USF to a 22-17 mark and a tie for fourth in the WCC with a 9-9 league record. In his first season on the Hilltop (2016-17), Smith led the Dons to a 20-13 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in the WCC, tying for fourth. It marked the first 20-win season since the 2013-14 season and the program’s third since the 1985-86 season. The wins were also the most by a first-year USF head coach since Pete Barry led the Dons to a 24-7 record in 1980-81. All three seasons under Smith saw USF finish fourth in the WCC, while it advanced to the CBI in both 2016-17 and 2017-18, including a runner-up finish in 2018.
In his three seasons at USF, Smith’s teams defeated three Pac-12 schools, including wins over both California and Stanford in 2018-19 and a defeat of Utah in the Diamond Head Classic in 2016-17. The Dons broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a season in both 2017-18 and 2016-17 with 333 and 304 3-pointers made, respectively. San Francisco also improved defensively under Smith, lowering its opponent scoring average by more than 10.0 points per game his first season from the previous season (2015-16).
Throughout his tenure at San Francisco, Smith produced seven All-West Coast Conference selections, including two-time first team honoree Frankie Ferrari, two second team honorees and three all-freshman. Ferrari also picked up NABC District 9 All-Region Second Team honors in 2019 as his 73 3-pointers rank third in school history.
Prior to his arrival at USF, Smith served as the head coach at Columbia for six seasons, guiding the Lions to a 101-82 overall record and two postseason appearances. The 101 victories were the most in a six-year span at Columbia since the program posted 107 victories from 1965-71. In his final season (2015-16), Columbia finished with a 25-10 record, third in the Ivy League with a 10-4 mark, and captured the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship with a 73-67 victory over UC Irvine in the title game. The Lions became only the second Ivy League team to win a postseason tournament after Princeton’s 1975 National Invitation Tournament Championship.
The 25 victories established a single-season school record while the 10 Ivy League victories were the most by a Columbia team since the 1992-93 squad also went 10-4 in the Ivy. It was Columbia’s second 20-win season in three years under Smith, who also guided the Lions to a 21-13 record during the 2013-14 season.
During his last three seasons at Columbia, the Lions compiled a 59-38 (.608) overall record. The 59 wins tied Princeton for the third-highest total in the Ivy League behind Yale (64) and Harvard (63).
During his six-year tenure, Smith also developed 10 players who earned All-Ivy League honors, including Maodo Lo, a two-time All-Ivy First Team recipient who ranks as the Lions second all-time leading scorer and holds the school-record for three-pointers made.
Prior to his appointment at Columbia in May of 2010, Smith spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach on the NCAA Division I level, including nine seasons (2001-10) at Saint Mary’s College, one season at Air Force (2000-01) and eight years at the University of San Diego (1992-2000).
While at Saint Mary’s, Smith played an integral role in building the Gaels’ program into a perennial championship contender in the West Coast Conference. In his nine seasons in Moraga, the Gaels made three NCAA Tournament (2005, ’08, ’10) appearances and earned one NIT (2009) bid. Saint Mary’s averaged 23 wins over his last six seasons on the staff, including an 81-20 record over his final three seasons. In 2009-10, Saint Mary’s finished with a 28-6 record, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship and were ranked 19th nationally in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. As the associate head coach under Randy Bennett, Smith was also responsible for coordinating the team’s offense and played a key role in the recruitment of all-conference players such as Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills, Diamon Simpson and Mickey McConnell. Mills (San Antonio) and Dellavedova (Cleveland) are currently playing in the NBA.
During his one season at Air Force, Smith served as the Falcons’ offensive and recruiting coordinator and also took a lead role with player development and scouting. He was instrumental in the recruitment of 2003-04 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Nick Welch along with all-conference players Antoine Hood and A.J. Kuhle.
Before joining the Falcons, Smith served eight seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego from 1992-2000 under Hank Egan and Brad Holland. During his time at San Diego, Smith helped lead the Toreros to their second-highest win total in school history (20 in 1999-2000) and as associate head coach, orchestrated a defense that allowed the lowest opponent scoring average (62.6) in the West Coast Conference (62.6 in 1999-2000).
Born in El Paso, Texas, Smith graduated in 1992 from Hamilton College with a degree in English literature. He also played basketball and helped lead the Continentals to a 26-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in the nation for NCAA Division III as a junior. He shot a school-record 51.3 percent from three-point range and helped Hamilton to an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship.
Smith also earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of San Diego, where he began his coaching career. Kyle and his wife, Katie, have three sons, Rocco, Bo and Luke.
