Dibbini Adds Smith as Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach
May 18, 2022 | Soccer
MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State soccer head coach Mike Dibbini has hired Matt Smith as the program's assistant coach/goalkeeper coach. Smith is familiar with the Big 12 Conference, as he spent the previous five seasons at Baylor.
"The staff and players couldn't be more excited to add Matt Smith to our coaching staff," said Dibbini about the newest addition to his coaching staff. "He brings a wealth of Big 12 coaching experience with goalkeepers and coaching in general. With the addition, I can say we just don't have solid, experienced coaches in place, but I feel like we have a staff that is in place to guide this program into its next phase. Matt recognizes and anticipates the direction we are headed. We couldn't be more excited for him to join us."
Smith will work primarily with K-State's goalkeepers and will be involved in the preparation of the defensive game plan.
In addition to his coaching duties, Smith's responsibilities include: practice preparation, assistance in recruiting coordination of unofficial and official visits and recruiting evaluation.
"I'm very excited about joining the program at K-State," said Smith about joining Dibbini's staff. "I've been able to see the growth of this program up close for the past five seasons and I know where it can go. I want to bring my experience within the Big 12 Conference to help get this program to the next level."
Prior to joining Dibbini's staff at K-State, Smith aided the Bears for five seasons. During his time in Waco, Smith helped mentor Baylor goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt to All-Big 12 honors, United Soccer Coaches All-Region accolades and achieving the school career and single-season records for shutouts.
He also aided the program to consecutive NCAA Elite 8 appearances in 2017 and 2018 and a pair of Big 12 titles in 2017 and 2018. He was also a member of the staff which was selected as the 2018 United Soccer Coaches Association Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Before his time with Baylor, Smith was the head coach at Limestone University and became the program's all-time wins leader an impressive 80-38-10 record in seven years. The Saints had just four winning seasons in the 20 years prior to his arrival, and Smith notched 10 or more wins five times.
Under Smith's guidance, the Saints broke the program record for most wins in a season three times (2011, 2015 and 2016) while five of his teams rank at the top of the Limestone record book for most wins in a year. The Saints achieved their best season in program history in 2016 with an 18-2 mark.
In 2015, he guided Limestone to its first Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Saints added a regular season title in 2016, and followed that up with a second consecutive tournament crown and NCAA appearance.
Named the 2016 Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year, Smith has mentored four All-Americans while at Limestone and coached 38 all-conference selections and 19 All-Southeast Region recipients.
During his seven years in Gaffney, the Saints had a student-athlete named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year four times and Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Smith's teams also excelled in the classroom, earning three NSCAA Team Academic Awards while overseeing the first player in team history to be named NSCAA Scholar All-American following the 2015 campaign.
Prior to his time at Limestone, Smith spent five seasons as the assistant women's soccer coach at Presbyterian College. His duties included working with the goalkeepers while also helping in recruiting and making travel plans for the team.
Smith played an instrumental part in helping PC make the transition from an NCAA Division II school to a Division I member institution and helping the program gain membership into the Big South Conference. During Presbyterian's first season at the DI level, he helped lead the team to a 6-7-1 overall mark after the Blue Hose closed out the regular season with three straight wins over VMI, High Point and Radford.
Before starting his coaching career, Smith played one season with the Nashville Metros of the Professional Development League (PDL) and guided the team to an 18-11 record.
He earned TransSouth All-Freshman honors while at Trevecca Nazarene University before transferring to Cumberland University for his final two seasons of eligibility. In high school, Smith was considered a Top-50 player in South Carolina after leading Irmo High School to a State Championship during his senior year.
The Columbia, S.C., native is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and has coached with the South Carolina Olympic Development Program and the Columbia United Football Club. He holds a NSCAA National and State goalkeeping license.
Smith graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2009.
K-State concluded its sixth season of action in 2021 by tying the school record for wins in a season with six. The Wildcats also established new school records for goals in a season (20), assists in a season (20) and points in a season (60).
The Wildcats will return 11 of its top 12-point scorers for the 2022 season, including leading goal scorers Marisa Weichel and Kyler Goins with six and four goals, respectively.
Season tickets for the 2022 season will be available later this summer by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or by visiting kstatesports.com/tickets.
"The staff and players couldn't be more excited to add Matt Smith to our coaching staff," said Dibbini about the newest addition to his coaching staff. "He brings a wealth of Big 12 coaching experience with goalkeepers and coaching in general. With the addition, I can say we just don't have solid, experienced coaches in place, but I feel like we have a staff that is in place to guide this program into its next phase. Matt recognizes and anticipates the direction we are headed. We couldn't be more excited for him to join us."
Smith will work primarily with K-State's goalkeepers and will be involved in the preparation of the defensive game plan.
In addition to his coaching duties, Smith's responsibilities include: practice preparation, assistance in recruiting coordination of unofficial and official visits and recruiting evaluation.
"I'm very excited about joining the program at K-State," said Smith about joining Dibbini's staff. "I've been able to see the growth of this program up close for the past five seasons and I know where it can go. I want to bring my experience within the Big 12 Conference to help get this program to the next level."
Prior to joining Dibbini's staff at K-State, Smith aided the Bears for five seasons. During his time in Waco, Smith helped mentor Baylor goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt to All-Big 12 honors, United Soccer Coaches All-Region accolades and achieving the school career and single-season records for shutouts.
He also aided the program to consecutive NCAA Elite 8 appearances in 2017 and 2018 and a pair of Big 12 titles in 2017 and 2018. He was also a member of the staff which was selected as the 2018 United Soccer Coaches Association Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Before his time with Baylor, Smith was the head coach at Limestone University and became the program's all-time wins leader an impressive 80-38-10 record in seven years. The Saints had just four winning seasons in the 20 years prior to his arrival, and Smith notched 10 or more wins five times.
Under Smith's guidance, the Saints broke the program record for most wins in a season three times (2011, 2015 and 2016) while five of his teams rank at the top of the Limestone record book for most wins in a year. The Saints achieved their best season in program history in 2016 with an 18-2 mark.
In 2015, he guided Limestone to its first Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Saints added a regular season title in 2016, and followed that up with a second consecutive tournament crown and NCAA appearance.
Named the 2016 Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year, Smith has mentored four All-Americans while at Limestone and coached 38 all-conference selections and 19 All-Southeast Region recipients.
During his seven years in Gaffney, the Saints had a student-athlete named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year four times and Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Smith's teams also excelled in the classroom, earning three NSCAA Team Academic Awards while overseeing the first player in team history to be named NSCAA Scholar All-American following the 2015 campaign.
Prior to his time at Limestone, Smith spent five seasons as the assistant women's soccer coach at Presbyterian College. His duties included working with the goalkeepers while also helping in recruiting and making travel plans for the team.
Smith played an instrumental part in helping PC make the transition from an NCAA Division II school to a Division I member institution and helping the program gain membership into the Big South Conference. During Presbyterian's first season at the DI level, he helped lead the team to a 6-7-1 overall mark after the Blue Hose closed out the regular season with three straight wins over VMI, High Point and Radford.
Before starting his coaching career, Smith played one season with the Nashville Metros of the Professional Development League (PDL) and guided the team to an 18-11 record.
He earned TransSouth All-Freshman honors while at Trevecca Nazarene University before transferring to Cumberland University for his final two seasons of eligibility. In high school, Smith was considered a Top-50 player in South Carolina after leading Irmo High School to a State Championship during his senior year.
The Columbia, S.C., native is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and has coached with the South Carolina Olympic Development Program and the Columbia United Football Club. He holds a NSCAA National and State goalkeeping license.
Smith graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2009.
K-State concluded its sixth season of action in 2021 by tying the school record for wins in a season with six. The Wildcats also established new school records for goals in a season (20), assists in a season (20) and points in a season (60).
The Wildcats will return 11 of its top 12-point scorers for the 2022 season, including leading goal scorers Marisa Weichel and Kyler Goins with six and four goals, respectively.
Season tickets for the 2022 season will be available later this summer by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or by visiting kstatesports.com/tickets.
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