Houston Smith Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

Smith arrives at SMC after serving as assistant on the national team at Southeastern Prep during the 2025-26 season and the head coach to the post grad team. He was actively involved in aspects of the nationally recognized program, including practice planning, game management, recruiting, and player development. During his tenure, he worked with several of the nation's top-ranked prospects, including ESPN-ranked recruits Beckham Black, CJ Rosser, Obinna Ezezie, Jaxson Richardson, and Toni Bryant.

Prior to Southeastern Prep, Smith spent the 2024-25 season as a graduate assistant coach at Mercer University (NCAA Division I). His responsibilities included on-court instruction, individual player development, academic oversight, recruiting operations, opponent scouting, scheduling, and video analysis using Synergy and SportsCode.

Smith also served three seasons as an assistant coach at Columbus Africentric High School in Columbus, Ohio, helping lead the program to back-to-back Ohio Division III Final Four appearances in 2021 and 2022. He also coached the school's middle school team to a 16-1 record and a championship.

"Houston is exactly the type of coach I wanted to add to my staff," Jackson said. "He's hungry, he's a great teacher of the game, and he has a genuine passion for helping players reach their potential. His experiences at Mercer, Southeastern Prep, and throughout his playing career have prepared him well for this opportunity. Our players are going to benefit from his energy, his basketball knowledge, and the relationships he'll build with them every day. We're thrilled to have him join the Pioneer family."

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Smith played four seasons at Bethune-Cookman University, where he was a three-year team captain and helped lead the Wildcats to the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular-season championship. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Bethune-Cookman and previously competed for All-Ohio Red on the Nike EYBL circuit.