William Peace University

The William Peace University athletic department is proud to announce Grahm Smith as the new Head Coach for the women’s basketball program. 

Grahm Smith begins his second season leading the William Peace University Women’s Basketball Program. Coach Smith took over the Head Women’s Basketball Coaching Position at William Peace University on May 1, 2018. He inherited a program that had won 4 games the prior year and that was returning only 3 players. He was able to successfully recruit a full roster of 18 student-athletes by adding 15 new players to the program in three months. The Pacers finished the 2018-19 season with an overall record of 16-11 and 11-5 in USA South Athletic Conference competition, with a 3rd place finish in the East Division. They qualified for the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament with a first round win and advanced the quarterfinal round for only the second time in program history. The Pacers had a 12-game increase in wins, finished with the third best record in program history, the second-best record in the last 12 years and only the second time in the last 12 years the program had awinning record. In addition, he produced two All-Conference Players, had a monumental program win over NCAA Division II Shaw University, and in a 73-54 win over Mary Baldwin University on December 1, 2018, won his 100th career game as a head coach. 

Coach Smith’s success has been due to continuous player development. He has made a commitment to helping his players improve. The success in player development is evident by the fact that Smith has had 14 different players receive All-Conference honors (12 First Team All-Conference Players), 8 All-Americans, 3 Academic All-Americans and 1 New England Collegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year during his six years as a head coach at the collegiate level.

Coach Smith joined the Pacers after serving as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Dean College since 2013. During his time with the Bulldogs, Coach Smith earned a 96-37 overall win-loss record and a 43-3 conference record, while making three consecutive national tournament appearances. Under Smith's leadership at Dean College, the program saw consistent and unprecedented success. Smith implemented his coaching philosophy and left Dean College as the program’s all-time winningest coach. His team’s averaged 19 wins a season, including a 17-win season in 2013-14, a 16-win season in 2014-15, a 24-win season during the 2015-16 campaign (single season record for wins), a 22-win season in 2016-17 (first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history) and a 17-win season in 2017-2018.
 
He led Dean College to three consecutive NJCAA Division 2 Region XXI Championships, one Northeast District Championship, one New England Collegiate Conference Regular Season Championship and registered three consecutive National Tournament appearances, all firsts for the Dean College Women’s Basketball program. Following the 2015-16 season, Smith was also named the NJCAA Division 2 District N Coach of The Year.
 
Smith’s 2017-18 team finished the season ranked 4th in the USCAA Division 1 National Poll with an overall record of 17-10, including 14-2 in NECC (New England Collegiate Conference) competition winning a share of the NECC regular season conference championship. The bulldogs qualified for an at-large bid to the USCAA Division 1 National Tournament which marked the third consecutive year the team qualified for a National Tournament. Smith also produced 2 NECC All-Conference selections, 1 NECC Defensive Player of the Year, 2 USCAA Division 1 All-Americans and 1 USCAA Division 1 Academic All-American.
 
In 2016-17, Smith’s Bulldogs finished the season ranked 6th in the USCAA Division 1 National Poll with an overall record of 22-8. His team qualified for an at-large bid to the USCAA Division 1 National Tournament which marked the second consecutive year the program qualified for a National Tournament. Smith also produced 3 USCAA Division 1 All-Americans.

During his time at Dean College, Smith produced 11 First Team All-Conference honors, 8 All-Americans, 3 Academic All-Americans and 1 New England Collegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year. 

While at Dean, Coach Smith also held additional titles as the Director of Student-Athlete Academic Success, Head Cross Country Coach, Assistant Athletic Recruiting Coordinator, Spring Home Athletic Events Game Manager, Academic Coach, and a Student Financial Planning Customer Service Representative along with his role with the women’s basketball program.

Prior to his time at Dean College, Coach Smith was the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Rockford University, a Division III institution in Rockford, IL. Coach Smith coached at Rockford University from 2008-2013. During his time at Rockford University, the Regents finished with one of the best records in school history and had one of the greatest single season turnarounds in NCAA Division III history in 2008-09. Rockford University's 15-game turnaround in the 2008-09 season was the best in country that season and among the best in history of NCAA Division III which helped turnaround the program from 1-24 in 2007-08 to 17-10 in 2008-09. During Smith's time at Rockford, the program qualified for the NACC postseason tournament every year. Smith also helped the Regents produce multiple All-Conference players, 1 All-Region Player, 1 Freshman of the year and had several players continue their careers at the professional level across the country and internationally as well.
 
Prior to Rockford University, Smith spent one year as an assistant coach at his alma mater Palm Beach Atlantic University after completing his college athletic career.
 
Smith brings a wealth of knowledge and a diverse basketball background to the William Peace University Women’s Basketball program with coaching experience at the NCAA Division II, III, NJCAA Division 2 and AAU levels.
 
Smith was a four-year starter at Rockford Christian High School where he tallied over 1,400 points and was named conference MVP as a senior.

Coach Smith, a graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University, earned his Bachelor of Science with an emphasis on physical education and a minor in sports management. Smith earned his Masters in Education in 2012 at Rockford University. Coach Smith played collegiate basketball for Maryville College, a USA South Conference member, for one season and concluded his collegiate play at Palm Beach Atlantic University. In his free time, Coach Smith enjoys traveling, living an active and healthy lifestyle, and spending time with his wife Whitney, family and friends.

Coach Smith’s All-Time Coaching Record