Utah Utes hire Utah State’s Craig Smith as men’s basketball coach
SALT LAKE CITY (BVM) – The University of Utah found its newest men’s basketball head coach just 80 miles north of its Salt Lake City campus.
Craig Smith will take over the Utes’ program after leading Utah State to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and two Mountain West Conference Tournament championships in three seasons in Logan. Smith is the 16th head coach in program history and takes over for Larry Krystkowiak who was fired on March 16.
The Aggies compiled a 74-24 record under Smith who has a career record of 225-108 (.676) in 10 years as a collegiate head coach. He recently led Utah State to the 2021 NCAA Tournament as the Mountain West’s second-place finisher with a 20-9 record, the Aggies’ third consecutive 20-win season.
“Craig Smith brings incredible energy and passion, and a proven record of success,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to have him lead our men’s basketball program, and look forward to our student-athletes experiencing his incredible work ethic, dedication to being a teacher of the game, and his ability to relate with his players and help them achieve their greatest potential.”
Smith brought the Utah State program to new heights, and he’ll look to bring that culture shift to a Pac-12 conference that just sent three teams to the Elite Eight.
In his first year with the Aggies, Smith led the program to a 28-7 record, the most wins by a first-year head coach in USU history and the third-most wins overall in school history. USU went on to advance to the tournament as a No. 8 seed, the highest in program history.
Before his three-year stint at USU, Smith was head coach at the University of South Dakota from 2014-17, where he compiled a 79-55 record, and head coach at Mayville State from 2005-07 (72-29).
“My family and I are thrilled to join the University of Utah and the community of Salt Lake City,” Smith said in a statement. “The Utah men’s basketball program has fantastic leadership at the top in Director of Athletics Mark Harlan and his executive team. After visiting with Mark, it became clear that our visions for Utah Basketball were aligned. This program has a rich tradition of excellence in the history of college basketball. Our facilities are state-of-the-art and first-class in every way. Our fan base has tremendous energy, knowledge and passion. We can’t wait to pack the Huntsman Center, feed off the energy of The MUSS and bring a consistent winner back to the U!”
The Utes finished 12-13 overall (Pac-12, 8-11) in 2021 and haven’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2016. The first step for Smith in Salt Lake City will be to attempt to retain last year’s core, as five players have made it known they’re entering the transfer portal.
