NASHVILLE — Tennessee State men's basketball head coach Nolan Smith has been named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award and the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, recognizing his impact in his first season leading the Tigers.
Smith, who was recently named Ohio Valley Conference Co-Coach of the Year, has guided Tennessee State to one of the most successful seasons in program history. In his debut campaign, Smith led the Tigers to a share of the OVC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the OVC Tournament, marking the program's first top seed in 30 years.
Under Smith's leadership, Tennessee State posted the highest conference win total of the program's NCAA Division I era while also producing one of the league's most explosive offenses. The Tigers averaged 80.5 points per game during the regular season, the second-highest scoring mark of the Division I era, surpassing 80 points in 14 games and recording multiple 90-point performances.
Smith also oversaw one of the most decorated seasons for individual honors in program history. Aaron Nkrumah was named OVC Player of the Year, while Travis Harper II earned All-OVC First Team honors and Dante Harris was selected to the All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team. The trio combined to average 46.8 points per game during the regular season.
The recognition continues a historic debut season for Smith, who became the 12th first-year head coach in OVC history to earn Coach of the Year honors. He joins a distinguished group that includes Bob Huggins, Mark Gottfried, Steve Prohm and E.A. Diddle.
Smith also became just the seventh first-year head coach in league history to win Coach of the Year while capturing at least a share of the OVC regular-season championship, joining Clem Haskins (1980-81, Western Kentucky), Scott Edgar (1991-92, Murray State), Mark Gottfried (1995-96, Murray State), Tevester Anderson (1998-99, Murray State), Steve Prohm (2011-12, Murray State) and Casey Alexander (2019-20, Belmont).
The Joe B. Hall Award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I men's basketball, while the Ben Jobe Award honors the nation's top minority head coach in Division I.
With the regular season complete, Smith now turns his attention to postseason play as Tennessee State prepares for the OVC Tournament semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup as they pursue the program's first OVC Tournament title since 1994.
