SAN FRANCISCO – After three wildly successful seasons on the Hilltop, University of San Francisco head men's basketball coach
Kyle Smith has resigned. Smith has accepted the vacant head coaching position at Washington State, a member of the Pac-12 conference.
"To have two people from our department leave for jobs at power five conferences in less than a month speaks volumes on what we are building here," said Director of Athletics
Joan McDermott. "I'm saddened to see Kyle and his family leave USF, he has done a tremendous job in turning our program around and exceeded everyone's expectations. That said, I'm very excited about what comes next as we continue to elevate this program."
"This is definitely a bittersweet moment. It's never easy doing these kinds of things. USF has been such a wonderful place for my family and me, which makes leaving such a hard decision," said Smith. "Washington State presents a unique opportunity that will benefit my family in many ways. My wife's family is from Washington and it is a challenge I couldn't pass up. USF is on the rise. They did everything I could have asked for and more as far as commitment to the program with the ongoing process of renovating the Sobrato Center, the building of the new practice facility, updating the locker rooms, and taking care of my staff, which stayed intact until now for three years. USF is not a stepping stone, it's a destination."
Smith was the living embodiment of the Dons' Four Pillars. In the Smith era, the Dons won at the highest level, excelled in the classroom, engaged in the community, and became leaders of the world.
In three years at USF, Smith led the Dons to three-straight 20-win seasons, becoming the first coach in USF's storied history to accomplish that feat. The Dons went 63-40 under his guidance, including a 28-24 mark in WCC play. His .612 winning percentage is eighth best in USF history. He helped guide the Dons to back-to-back postseason appearances in 2017 and '18, taking the Dons all the way to the College Basketball Invitational championship game last year.
Under Smith's tutelage, the Dons had six all-conference honorees, including
Frankie Ferrari who was a two-time First Team All-WCC Honoree and a NABC District 8 All-Region Second Team honoree.
The Dons also excelled in the classroom. This past season the team tallied a 3.40 GPA. 11 players had a GPA of 3.2 or higher, with four players earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. Five Dons earned WCC All-Academic Honors, with four earning first team accolades. No other team had more than two. Senior co-captain
Nate Renfro was named to the CoSIDA District 8 First Team All-Academic Team.
The Dons were also actively engaged in community outreach. USF annually participated with eHoops, an all-volunteer, inclusive basketball program where kids with typical and special needs participate alongside each other. The Dons were also annually participating in the Autism Awareness month.
Associate coach
Todd Golden has been promoted to head coach. Full
release here:
