Aaron Smith became head coach Jordan Fee’s first official hire on April 9, 2026. Known as a top recruiter and one of the top former junior college coaches in the country, Smith makes his way to the Golden Triangle after stops at Florida Atlantic, Longwood and Louisiana Tech.
Smith comes to Lamar from FAU where he spent the previous season working alongside Fee. During his time in Boca Raton, Smith signed the highest-rated prospect in program history – Josiah Parker – a four-star athlete (247Sports.com) who was ranked 68th nationally.
Smith joined the FAU staff after one year at Longwood. During his lone season in Farmville, Va., he helped secure the best recruiting class in program history – an SEC transfer, two A-10 transfers, two former 4-star prospects, a Missouri Valley All-Freshman team selection and an NCAA Division II All-American. The Lancers also improved their field goal percentage by 122 places in the national rankings which was the highest percentage in the seven-year Griff Aldrich Era.
Smith got his start at the NCAA Division I level in 2022 when he joined the staff at Louisiana Tech. During his time in Ruston, Smith secured the 42nd-ranked recruiting class in the country (according to Rivals.com). That class was also considered the second-best mid-major class in the country. The Bulldogs produced the top-ranked offense in Conference USA during his time on staff as well as the league’s top-ranked scoring defense (16th nationally).
Prior to his jump to Division I, Smith spent seven seasons at the junior college level serving as head coach at Jacksonville College and Panola College. During his three seasons at Panola he posted 55 wins, built one of the most productive offenses in the country, produced a regional semifinalist and multiple teams ranked in the NJCAA top 25.
Those numbers coming on the heels of a four-year stretch at Jacksonville where he posted three 20-win seasons, won 79 games, was a two-time NJCAA Region XIV quarterfinalist and a South Zone Champion. For his efforts he was named TexasJucoBasketball.com’s Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
A graduate of Prairie View A&M, Smith and his wife, Keri, have a daughter, Nicole.
