Kyle Smith

Who is Kyle Smith?

Kyle Smith is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach at Columbia University. Prior to joining the Lions, Smith was associate head coach at Saint Mary's, where he was responsible for running the offense and heading up the recruiting activities. In his final season at Saint Mary's Smith helped guide the Gaels to two wins in the NCAA tournament and an appearance in the Sweet 16. Upon his hire by Columbia, St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett commented “He will be very successful, He has been a huge part of what we’ve done [at St. Mary’s]. It’s been he and I together—it’s been like having a co-coach.”

Smith was a member of New York's Hamilton College men's basketball team that achieved a 26–1 record his junior season and achieved the national Division III #1 ranking. Additionally, University of Richmond head men's basketball coach Chris Mooney referred to Smith as "the smartest man in college basketball. I think he has the best feel and overview of basketball programs and coaching of anyone I've ever met."

In his first season at Columbia, Smith piloted the Lions to a 15-13 record, becoming the first new Columbia head coach in 33 years to notch a winning season in his inaugural campaign. Smith backed up his offensive reputation with sterling numbers on that side of the ball in year one in Morningside Heights; the Lions scored more than 10 points per game more in 2010-11 than they did the year before and scored more than 70 points 15 times during the entire season.