How Mercury's Smith Became A Head Coach

After that, Smith was a part of an expansion draft, and she was drafted by the Seattle Storm. She spent two years with the Storm, and in her first season, she played 32 games. She started in three of those outings, and during that time, she had her career high.

Smith had 10 points against the Portland Fire, and the Storm had four players who scored in double figures. She was one of three players who scored 10 points, and all of them came off the bench. Seattle's leading scorer in that game was Jamie Redd, and she had 14 points.

After playing 32 games in the first season, Smith did the same in her second. She averaged 1.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists that year.

Smith comes to Phoenix

Later on, Smith was waived, and she did not play in the 2002 season. However, she joined a new team in 2003 as she made her way to Phoenix. She played four games with the Mercury, and she was waived after that.

Smith started her coaching career that year, as she was a part of Boston College's staff. She headed to Stanford a bit later, and that was where she spent her college years. She averaged 4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in her final year.

The Mercury player continued her coaching journey, and that included a stint with the New York Liberty.

Eventually, she became the head coach of California, and she remains the coach to this day.

Smith became the school's coach in 2019, and in her first season, the Golden Bears were 12-19. The second year was a struggle, but after that season, the team started to improve. The Golden Bears went 25-9 in the 2024-25 season, and they played Mississippi State in the NCAA tournament.

Some of Phoenix's former players have become coaches, and they have found some success.

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