| In his previous stop as a head coach, Jimmy Smith led Texas Lutheran to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons with the Bulldogs. Photo by Tim Nelson, Abilenesportz.com |
Jimmy Smith, who had short but successful tenures as head coach at Schreiner and Texas Lutheran, has returned to Division III after a one-year stint as a Division I assistant. The Mary Hardin-Baylor alum was named the next men's basketball head coach at Millsaps College.
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Millsaps' Athletic Director Donnie Brooks announced the hire on Monday.
"Inside a sizeable candidate pool, we were excited to find a resume like Jimmy's," said Brooks in a release. "He is a program builder and proven winner at the Division III level that had a strong interest in returning to Division III and the small liberal arts college experience. Jimmy is a smart and confident leader who expects us to compete at a high level next year. We are excited to welcome his family into the Millsaps College community."
Smith started his career as a head coach at Schreiner in 2012-13 where he helped the Mountaineers achieve their first winning record. Schreiner finished 15-12, 10-4 in the SCAC in 2013-14 and reached the SCAC tournament semifinal.
After two seasons, Smith moved to Texas Lutheran where he helped the Bulldogs make a worst-to-first transformation. Texas Lutheran went 18-10, 11-3 in the SCAC and won the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in Smith's first season. He followed that up with a 21-7, 11-3 record and another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015-16. Between Schreiner and Texas Lutheran, Smith went 65-44 over four seasons.
Smith then left Texas Lutheran to join Jason Hooten's staff at Division I Sam Houston State where he previously served as a graduate assistant. The Bearkats went 21-13 in the Southland last season.
"I am very excited to be the Head Men's Basketball coach at Millsaps College," said Smith. "Millsaps offers such a unique college experience because of its location in the heart of Jackson. At Millsaps, you receive a top-level education but also have unlimited opportunities offered by the capital city. Athletically, I feel we have a really good group of guys returning and I will start recruiting immediately to add to the team. We have a very clear goal for next season and that is to win the conference and advance to the NCAA Tournament. My family and I are anxious to move to town and we look forward to building meaningful relationships with colleagues and alumni."
Smith replaces Tim Wise who stepped down in March to take a full-time administrative position at Millsaps.
Millsaps went 4-22, 1-13 in the SAA last season.