John Smith - Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

John Smith

Title:
Head Coach
Camp Info:
Dominican, 1994

With more than two decades of success at the Division I and junior college levels, John Smith is in his fifth season as Cal Poly men’s basketball head coach.

Cal Poly closed the 2022-23 season by prevailing in the opening round of the Big West Championships for the second time in three years, defeating Long Beach State for the first time at the conference tournament.

Two seasons ago under Smith, Cal Poly held opponents to the second lowest field goal mark among Big West programs while playing in front of the second highest average attendance in the conference. Individually, forward Alimamy Koroma earned All-Big West honors for a second successive year.

To complete the 2020-21 season, Smith guided Cal Poly to the program’s first Big West Championships victory in seven years.

During Smith’s initial 2019-20 season, Cal Poly recorded the program’s 300th Division I win versus CSUN (Jan. 11) and its 150th Big West victory against Hawai’i (Feb. 8). With Smith earning his first victory as a Division I head coach against Simpson (Nov. 15), Cal Poly led the Big West at 6.4 steals per game.

Cal Poly also played the toughest schedule among Big West programs during Smith’s first season as the Mustangs faced two ranked opponents (No. 15 San Diego State, No. 18 Saint Mary’s), two opponents who finished the year ranked in the AP Top 25 poll (No. 7 Creighton, No. 25 Iowa) and five regular season conference champions in San Diego State (Mountain West), Creighton (Big East), North Dakota State (Summit League), Siena (MAAC) and UC Irvine (Big West).

“This program has high-character players who are academically driven,” said Smith, who was named Cal Poly head coach on March 28, 2019. “Those are two things that are a precursor for success. It’s a competitive group of players who are capable of being successful within the Big West.”

Smith arrived at Cal Poly after serving as associate head coach at Cal State Fullerton from 2013-19 – a period of historic success for the Titans program. During Smith’s final three seasons, Cal State Fullerton qualified for the 2018 NCAA Tournament and earned berths in the College Insider.com Postseason Tournament in 2017 and 2019. The Titans averaged 18 wins per year during Smith’s final three seasons, finished among the top four programs in the Big West Conference standings each year and reached the semifinals of the Big West Tournament three times.

With Smith playing a pivotal role in Cal State Fullerton’s recruiting efforts, eight Titans earned All-Big West honors during his final three seasons.

“Coach Smith is an outstanding fit for our university and our athletics department,” Cal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman said. “His coaching and teaching experience, commitment to academic excellence and desire to lead and mentor young men have made him the clear choice for Cal Poly.”

Prior to his successful tenure at Cal State Fullerton, Smith served as head coach at Riverside City College (2004-13), compiling a 196-87 (.693) overall record – the second-highest win total in school history – while leading the Tigers to four conference championships (2005, 2007, 2010-11), nine postseason berths, five 20-win seasons and the 2009 California Community College Athletic Association state championship (the school’s first in 43 years).

In Smith’s final season at Riverside City College, the 2012-13 Tigers finished 19-9 and posted a 9-3 mark in the Orange Empire Conference. Smith, meanwhile, earned his fifth and final Orange Empire Coach of the Year award.

As head coach and assistant athletics director at San Bernardino Valley College (2000-04), Smith posted an 88-40 overall record while directing the program to the 2003 CCCAA state tournament semifinals. He was named the 2003 Foothill Conference Coach of the Year while leading the program to a league championship.

His junior college coaching record stands at 265-118 (.692). In 2016, the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association inducted Smith into its Hall of Fame for his outstanding work in building two programs and leading each to the state tournament.

Smith’s coaching resume also includes positions as an assistant coach at two-year programs College of Southern Idaho and Chaffey College and J.W. North High School (Riverside) and Valley View High School (Moreno Valley, Calif.). He also spent one season as the West Coast scout for the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.

As a player, Smith was a two-time all-league and all-county selection at J.W. North HS before playing at UNLV (1987-89). From there, he transferred to Dominican University (San Rafael, Calif.), where he was an NAIA All-California honorable mention selection and all-conference honoree under his brother, Steve.

He graduated from Dominican in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in psychology before earning a master’s degree in kinesiology from Azusa Pacific in 2004.

Smith and his wife, Kelly, have three children. Son, Jamal, is an assistant coach with Cal Poly after competing as a graduate guard with the Mustangs (2019-20) and playing for his father at Cal State Fullerton (2015-19). He spent the 2021-22 season as Montana State’s director of operations and 2022-23 in the same position with Cal Poly. Eldest daughter, Kianna, was a 2017 McDonald’s All-America selection and helped Louisville to the 2022 Final Four. She was selected 16th overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. Daughter, Kylee, played at J.W. North HS in Riverside.