Alabama State Head Soccer Coach Jodie Smith Announces Retirement

MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Jodie Smith announced his retirement on Wednesday after 18 successful seasons at the helm of the Alabama State University women's soccer program.

"Coach Smith's unwavering dedication, passion, and commitment to the soccer program is unmatched!" Alabama State Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Jason Cable said. "For twenty years Coach Smith has shaped the lives of countless student-athletes. Under his guidance, our teams have not only achieved athletic excellence through multiple SWAC championships, numerous all conference performers, and players of the year, but off the field his teams have performed at an elite level in the community and academically earning over a 3.6 GPA under his leadership. On behalf of the entire Alabama State University community, we thank Coach Smith from the bottom of our hearts. We wish him much success and happiness in the next chapter of his life."

Smith won three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular-season and tournament titles and two tournament runner-up finishes during his 18 seasons with Alabama State. He totaled 111 wins at Alabama State and 205 across 29 seasons with stints at Mercer, Georgia State, AUM, and Alabama State.

Smith coached 33 All-SWAC honorees and 27 All-SWAC Tournament selections, including three SWAC Tournament MVPs. Overall, 11 student-athletes earned the SWAC's top postseason awards, including four SWAC Offensive Players of the Year, two SWAC Freshmen of the Year, two SWAC Goalkeepers of the Year, and three SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lady Hornets were just as impressive in the classroom, with a 3.61 team GPA, 94.6 percent graduation success, and a .968 APR over Smith's 18 seasons. Over 200 student-athletes earned All-SWAC academic selections, and five were named Presidential Scholars.

Under Smith, Kylee Hathaway was a 2014 CoSIDA Senior CLASS Award National Finalist, and India Pleasant was a 2013 CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-District Selection and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar All-Region honoree.

A national search for Smith's replacement will begin immediately.

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