Jackie Smith Named Assistant Coach at Stonehill - Stonehill

Former Hartford Hawks captain joins Skyhawks women's basketball staff

EASTON, Mass. (June 21, 2011) – Stonehill College has named Jackie Smith as an assistant coach of the women's basketball program. The announcement was made today by head coach Trisha Brown and confirmed by Brendan Sullivan, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the College.

"Jackie is a fantastic addition our women's basketball staff here at Stonehill," said Brown. "She is a natural leader who is coming off an incredibly successful career at the University of Hartford. Her passion and intensity, combined with a great knowledge of the game will equal great success as she begins her college coaching career."

Smith joins Stonehill's coaching staff following a standout playing career at Hartford. (PHOTO COURTESY Univ. of Hartford)

Smith joins Stonehill following a standout four year career at Hartford, where she was a two year captain for head coach Jen Rizzotti and was the starting point guard for a Hawks program that was ranked as high as 19th in the NCAA Division I polls. Smith was part of four postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids, for Hartford, winning three America East regular season and two Conference Tournament championships over her career.

Smith earned All-America East honors as a junior and was also named to the Conference's All-Academic Team. She finished her career ranked second all-time in Hartford history for career free-throw percentage (.815), sixth for career three-point field goals made (107), seventh in career assists (292) and eight in career games played (122).

Smith, a native of Westfield, Mass., is a 2011 graduate of Hartford with a Bachelor's Degree in elementary and special education with a minor in sociology. She has worked as a camp counselor at Hartford's Jen Rizzotti Camp and was a summer camp director for the Westfield YMCA.

In addition to Smith's hiring, Brown has also announced current assistant coach Scott Smith will now also serve as recruiting coordinator for the program.

"We are thrilled that Scott will be staying at Stonehill and moving into the role of recruiting coordinator," said Brown. "Scott brings tremendous experience to our staff, and his ability to find and evaluate talent is phenomenal."

Smith is in his second year as an assistant coach with the women's basketball program at Stonehill after serving four years in a similar capacity at Northeast-10 Conference rival Merrimack College.

Stonehill (17-11, 12-10 NE-10) earned its 30^th-straight trip to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament this past season after finishing in a tie for seventh in the Conference standings. The Skyhawks will return eight letter winners and three starters for the 2011-12 season.