Matt Smith was promoted to the position of assistant coach in July 2023 after spending his first two seasons on the Palouse as the program’s video coordinator. Bringing a background in analytics and scouting, Smith was an integral part of Washington State’s historic run to a Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship during the 2022-23 season and has been on staff for the 2022 and 2023 NCAA Tournament teams.
Smith came to the Palouse after a two-year stint at UCLA, where he was part of Cori Close’s video staff. He worked closely with the UCLA assistant coaches on special situations, an offensive archive, and scouting opponents. The Bruins were consistently ranked inside the top 10 nationally during Smith’s tenure in Westwood and part of the staff that guided UCLA to a No. 3 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, where the Bruins advanced to the Round of 32.
Prior to UCLA, Smith was an assistant coach at West Los Angeles College, working under WSC-South Coach of the Year, Twan Herron. During his time at WLAC he coached five all-conference athletes, including Audrina Villela, who was the League MVP and all-state selection. The Wildcats went undefeated in conference play and earned a first-round bye in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Tournament.
Smith has experience coaching both boys and girls basketball at the high school level. He is passionate about teaching basketball and has spent time working at Dave Miller’s MVP Summer Camps, along with numerous YMCA youth camps.
An IMPACT Basketball certified coach, Smith is a PGC Coaching graduate and is a two-time attendee of Felicia Hall-Allen’s “A Step Up” Coaching Symposium. Smith is also the co-host of the Growth Mindset Coaches Zoom with legendary women’s basketball coach Colleen Matsuhara, who is his mentor.
Smith, who is a Southern California native, is married to his wife Megan and they have a daughter, Scarlett, and son, Bowie.
