Nevada Smith is the new Siena men’s basketball coach.
Marquette Athletics
The Siena men’s basketball program is set to hire Nevada Smith as its next head coach.
Jim Franco/Times Union
Siena University named Nevada Smith on Wednesday as the 20th head coach in its men’s basketball program’s history.
Smith replaces Gerry McNamara, a Syracuse alumnus who returned to his alma mater to become head coach last week after guiding Siena to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title this season.
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Smith will be formally introduced at a news conference next week, with more details to follow.
“My family and I could not be more excited to arrive in the Capital Region and become a part of the Siena community,” Smith said in a news release. “I am honored and humbled to be able to lead this program, and build upon the momentum created by Gerry McNamara, his staff, and the great players who have proudly worn the Siena jersey throughout the years. I would like to thank President Seifert, John D’Argenio, and the search committee for having the trust in me to lead this storied program. I can’t wait to get to work. GO SAINTS!”
Smith interviewed for the position on Sunday, according to sources. The 45-year-old just completed his fifth season at Marquette of the Big East on the staff of head coach Shaka Smart. Smith spent his first two seasons as special assistant to the head coach and the past three as assistant coach. The Golden Eagles were 110-61 during that time with four NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big East Tournament title. However, Marquette slipped to a 12-20 record this season.
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Smith followed Smart from Texas, where he served as the Longhorns’ director of program development for one season.
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Though he has never been a Division I head coach, Smith served as a G-League head coach with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, a Miami Heat affiliate, for three seasons from 2016 to 2019. He was head coach of the G-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, a Houston Rockets affiliate, from 2013 to 2015.
“As Siena University continues its climb in the national landscape, the appointment of Nevada Smith as our next men’s basketball head coach marks a significant new chapter for our program,” Siena president Chuck Seifert said in school’s news release. “Nevada is a proven winner with a sophisticated basketball mind. His unique blend of professional head coaching experience and recent success at the highest level of college basketball makes him the ideal leader for our Saints.
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Smith has a reputation for a gifted offensive mind. Marquette ranked seventh, 21st and 35th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency from 2022 to 2025, according to kenpom.com, before slipping to 119th this season.
As a player at Division III Bethany (W. Va.), Smith led the nation in 3-pointers per game in 2000-01 and finished his career with a program-record 313 made 3-pointers. However, his offense doesn’t revolve around the 3-point arc.
“They really try to dominate the paint with 2s,” said Case Western Reserve head coach Todd McGuinness, a college teammate and close friend of Smith. “I know everyone says, ‘Oh, it looks like they shoot a million 3s,’ but his goal is to dominate around the rim. That’s their goal. Their first thing is to attack the rim.”
Marquette athletic director Mike Broeker is a Siena graduate who has a son on the Saints’ golf team.
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Smith lived in Saratoga Springs during the offseason while in the G-League, according to McGuinness. Smith married his wife, Lindsay, at Saratoga National Golf Club. They have two daughters, Finley and Scotland.
Smith worked as a Division III head coach at Keystone College, where he had a 39-16 record from 2011 to 2013. His first head coaching job was at SUNY Canton, a junior college, where Smith went 7-17 in 2004-05.
“We are thrilled to welcome Nevada into the Siena family, and add a talented, driven young coach who will help us continue building and elevating our men’s basketball program,” Siena athletic director John D’Argenio said in a new release. “When his name first came up through our NBA connections, it was clear that Nevada was someone we needed to target.”
A native of Vandergrift, Pa., Smith also worked as an assistant coach at Ithaca College from 2006 to 2011. The Bombers went 96-40 during his tenure, advanced to a pair of NCAA Division III playoffs in 2009 and 2011, and won the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) title in 2010.
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“While I’m thrilled for him, I’m not at all surprised,” retired Ithaca coach Jim Mullins said. “I figured, at some point in time, just based on his basketball acumen and what he’s done, the steps he’s taken, it was just a matter of time before somebody gave him a shot. I said all along… all any head coach is, is an assistant coach that somebody gives a chance.”
During the Saints’ coaching search, Siena also spoke with former Washington head coach and Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins, who withdrew his name, as well as Vermont head coach John Becker, Hofstra associate head coach Mike DePaoli and former Siena coach Fran McCaffery, who is now at Penn, according to sources.
Smith spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at St. Lawrence University for two seasons from 2002 to 2004.
Smith will take over a Siena program that went 23-12 this season and pushed Duke to the limit in a 71-65 first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Saints could have a dramatically different roster after McNamara’s departure.
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Sophomore guard Gavin Doty, a first-team all-MAAC selection, and All-Rookie forward Francis Folefac have declared their intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens April 7. The Saints are graduating all-league senior guard Justice Shoats, graduate center Riley Mulvey and graduate forward Antonio Chandler, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA with two games left in the regular season. Senior forward Brendan Coyle has one year of eligibility remaining.
Redshirt sophomore guard Reid Ducharme, who didn’t play this year because of a shoulder injury, and sophomore forward Tajae Jones, who played only three games this season, also plan to enter the portal.