Eastern Athletics
BATON ROUGE — Longtime college basketball veteran Jay Smith will join the LSU men’s basketball staff of coach Will Wade as Director of Player Development for the 2026-27 season.
Smith has served on college basketball coaching staffs for over 40 years since starting his career at Kent State University in 1984.
Among his college basketball stops was as Head Coach at Kalamazoo College (2016-19), Central Michigan University (1997-06) and at Grand Valley State University (1996-97).
He was also an assistant coach at Michigan from 1989-96 and later served as Director of Player Personnel and Development for five seasons (2019-24).
Smith won two Mid-American Conference titles at CMU in 2001 and 2003 and also played a key role in recruiting Michigan’s “Fab Five” as part of six NCAA Tournament trips in his first stint in Ann Arbor. He was part of the coaching staff that worked with All-Americans Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught, Terry Mills, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard.
He also captured as coach the regular season and tournament championship while at GVSU.
“Jay Smith brings many years of college basketball experience to our LSU program. He has had success at many different levels as a college head coach,” said Coach Wade. “He has proven to be one of the best, if not the best, big man coaches in the country. The player development component is an important part of the modern college basketball game and Jay has been successful in player development throughout his outstanding career.”
The past two seasons, the native of Mio, Michigan, served as Director of Player Development at Eastern Michigan University under former SEC head coach Stan Heath.
Smith graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 1984 with a degree in physical education and minor in business before earning a Master’s in sports management from Kent State in 1986.
The 1979 Michigan Mr. Basketball winner scored over 2,800 points at Mio AuSable High School, a record that still stands today.
The Smith File
Season at LSU: First
Hometown: Mio, Michigan
Birth Date: June 21, 1961
High School: Mio AuSable High School
College: Saginaw Valley State University, ‘84
Kent State (Masters), ‘86
Wife: Tymi
Children: Cooper, Cazzi
College Basketball Coaching Experience
1984-89: Assistant Coach, Kent State
1989-96: Assistant Coach, Michigan
1996-97: Head Coach, Grand Valley State
1997-06: Head Coach, Central Michigan
2008-16: Assistant Coach, Detroit Mercy
2016-19: Head Coach, Kalamazoo College
2019-24: Director of Player Personnel and Development, Michigan
2024-26: Director of Player Development, Eastern Michigan
May 2026-: Director of Player Development, LSU
