April 21, 2005
Dayton, Ohio - Trina Smith, an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina the past eight seasons, has been named the new head volleyball coach at Wright State University, WSU Athletics Director Michael Cusack announced Thursday.
Smith, who will start immediately, replaces Joylynn Tracy, who coached the Raiders for seven years.
"We are excited to have Trina join our program," said Cusack. "On paper, her background as a player and coach was impressive. As we got to know her during her visit and speak to people in the athletics community, it became very clear she was the person for the job. Her enthusiasm and history of success will have an immediate impact on our program."
Smith was involved with all aspects of the Gamecock program as she oversaw the team's academic progress, was the recruiting coordinator and coached the middle blockers. In her eight years there, the Gamecocks posted a record of 144-84 with five seasons of 20 wins or more and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, three times advancing to the second round. Along with her duties at South Carolina, Smith also worked as a coach for the Irmo Juniors club program in 1999.
"I am very excited to be the head volleyball coach at Wright State," said Smith. "The athletics department has a good family-like atmosphere and we both have the same type of vision for this program on both the Horizon League and national levels. I want to thank Dr. Cusack for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of being a head coach and I'm excited to work under his leadership."
"Wright State has great facilities and it's a good fit for me at this time of my career," added Smith. "I will strive to bring league championships and national recognition to the program. I am also looking forward to building on the success that Wright State has had in the past and to working with the volleyball community in Ohio."
Before joining the South Carolina staff, Smith spent three seasons as an assistant coach at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. There she was responsible for recruiting, scheduling and preparing practice plans. She also served as the interim head coach for the Gaels in early 1996.
Prior to St. Mary's, Smith coached a year at Catalina High School in Arizona and coached Cactus Juniors, a club team in Tucson.
Smith graduated from the University of Arizona in 1994 with a degree in communications. A middle blocker, she lettered all four years for the Wildcats in volleyball and earned three letters as a small forward in basketball.
During her playing days at Arizona, Smith was selected to the Pacific 10 Conference's All-Freshman Team and finished her career ranked in the Wildcat top 10 in solo blocks, block assists and digs. In 2000, she was selected to the conference's All-Decade Team.
As a senior in 1993, Smith led Arizona to a final #16 ranking and an appearance in the NCAA West Regional finals as the Wildcats became the first Pac-10 team to ever defeat UCLA and Stanford in the same season. Arizona overall made two trips to the NCAA Tournament during Smith's career.
A native of Maywood, Illinois, Smith attended Proviso East High School. She won MVP honors her senior year and was selected to the West Suburban and all-conference teams her junior and senior campaigns. She also played on the West Team at the 1990 Sport Festival, winning a silver medal. Smith also lettered in volleyball all four years and in softball and basketball three times.
The daughter of S.L. and Alma Smith, Smith has three brothers and three sisters.
