| Jimmy Smith went 39-17 in two seasons at Texas Lutheran. |
Texas Lutheran head coach Jimmy Smith has stepped down from his position after two seasons to become an assistant at Division I Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas.
Smith leaves Texas Lutheran after leading the Bulldogs to two SCAC championships and their first two NCAA tournament appearances.
In 2014-15 Smith turned the Bulldogs from a last-place finisher in the prior season into the conference champions with an 11-3 mark in the SCAC and a win over Centenary (La.) in the conference title game. Last season Texas Lutheran won another SCAC title and posted its best winning percentage (.750) in school history before losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Hardin-Simmons. Those were the program’s first two conference titles since 1965.
"I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in our two years at Texas Lutheran," said Smith. "The majority of the praise for our success needs to go to the kids we have had in the program. These guys bought into our program and into what we were doing. Both seasons were different - different ways to win championships. We did it because we had great people, great support and a great coaching staff.”
Before coming to Texas Lutheran, Smith was the head coach at Schreiner for two seasons where he went 26-27. Smith also spent three seasons as an assistant at his alma mater Mary Hardin-Baylor. During his tenure with the Crusaders, they went 70-18 and reached the NCAA tournament three times.
"Coach Smith did a fantastic job in his short time here, and we are grateful to him for leading our men's basketball program to new levels of success," said Texas Lutheran Director of Athletics Bill Miller. "We are sorry to lose him, but we know this is a good professional opportunity for him. We wish him all the best at Sam Houston State."
Smith began his coaching career as an assistant at Sam Houston State where he coached alongside the Bearkats’ current head coach Jason Hooten.
Texas Lutheran will immediately begin the search process for a new head coach.