Email Coach Smith at Stacey_Smith@baylor.edu
Stacey Smith is in her 23rd season as a coach at Baylor working with the Bears’ jumpers and third season as the associate head coach of the program. The most decorated women’s athlete in program history, the former Stacey Bowers currently holds the Baylor outdoor and indoor record in the triple jump while claiming the first individual national title in women’s program history when she won the 1999 NCAA outdoor triple jump title.
Smith was promoted from assistant coach to associate women’s track head coach during the summer of 2017, and then from associate women’s coach to associate head coach in the summer of 2022.
In almost two decades of coaching at her alma mater, Smith has been able to translate her personal collegiate success into success for the student-athletes she has mentored. She coached Felix Obi as he became Baylor’s first national champion in the triple jump in the 2014 indoor season.
She has coached 20 All-Americans during her time, including 15 on the women’s side and five on the men’s, along with 10 Big 12 champions.
During the 2024 season, Smith guided Alexis Brown to an outstanding season as she was named the Big 12 Women’s Performer of the Year for track & field. Brown ended the 2024 Big 12 Outdoor Championship with two titles and became the first Bear to cross the 22-foot mark in the women’s long jump in program history, landing a conference championship-winning 22-5 leap. Brown set three program records in the even throughout the outdoor season. Brown went on to finish fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Smith worked with another talented jumps group in the 2023 season, coaching Koi Johnson to an appearance in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Austin after claiming All-Big 12 status in the indoor long jump and both indoor and outdoor triple jump competitions. She also coached Aïcha Moumin and Moorea Long to the All-Big 12 podium in the high jump in the indoor and outdoor Big 12 Championships.
For the 2022 campaign, Smith saw Johnny Brackins win the outdoor Big 12 long jump title, win the collegiate title at the Texas Relays, finish as an indoor All-American and set the program record in the outdoor long jump. She also worked closely with Alex Madlock and Caira Pettway, who became only the fourth and fifth Bears to ever cross the 21-foot mark in the long jump, and Koi Johnson who finished All-Big 12 outdoor in the triple jump and indoor in the long jump.
In 2021, she coached Alex Madlock to a career-best jump of 6.39m, which moves into the third position all-time at the school. Madlock qualified to NCAAs with a 14th-place finish.
In the 2020 season that abrubtly ended before the NCAA Indoor Championships, Smith saw Alex Madlock earn her first career All-America honor in the triple jump.
The 2019 season saw Alex Madlock and Jalen Seals take the next step in their growth under Smith’s guidance. Madlock triple jumped 45-3 at the Texas Relays, moving to No. 4 on the school’s all-time outdoor performances list (No. 2 all-time performer) behind three of Smith’s jumps. Madlock earned All-Big 12 in both the triple jump and long jump outdoors. Seals earned his first-ever spot at the NCAA national meet in the long jump, but was unable to compete due to injury. He earned three All-Big 12 awards, giving him five for his career.
Smith coached Madlock (triple jump) and Seals (long jump and triple jump) to All-Big 12 honors in the 2018 indoor season, as well.
In 2017, Smith guided three jumpers to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, all of which posted top 20 finishes in the final meets of their senior years. During the indoor season, Smith saw Brianna Richardson, Rachel Toliver and Alex Lord produce all-conference honors to help Baylor win its first-ever Big 12 women’s indoor track and field championship.
During the 2016 season, Smith’s athletes produced one Big 12 title and nine all-conference honors. Senior Felix Obi closed out his outdoor career with a second-straight Big 12 title in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 53-9.75 [16.40m]. Obi again advanced to the outdoor NCAA Championships, where he finished 10th for second consecutive year. At the conference level, Smith helped freshman high jumper Blaine Listach produce indoor and outdoor all-conference accolades. On the women’s side, Smith coached four All-Big 12 indoor performers and two during the outdoor season.
In 2015, Smith’s pupils, Obi and Richardson, swept both the indoor and outdoor Big 12 titles in the triple jump. After helping Richardson win the first Big 12 titles of her career, Smith coached the junior to All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships by placing fifth. Richardson finished just outside of scoring at the national outdoor meet with a 10th-place showing. On the men’s side, Smith guided Obi back from knee surgery as the junior won a third-straight Big 12 Indoor triple jump title and then captured the first outdoor title of his career. He missed out on All-America honors by placing 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
One of the highlights of Smith’s coaching career came in 2014 as she guided sophomore Obi to the NCAA Indoor triple jump title. As Obi battled a knee injury, Smith helped him achieve a new school record of 54-5.25 [16.59m] on his third attempt of the meet to clinch BU’s first NCAA indoor title since 2009. Just two weeks earlier, Smith aided Obi in becoming just the fourth Baylor male athlete to win a Big 12 indoor title in back-to-back seasons as he repeated as triple jump conference champion. Obi also earned All-Big 12 honors with a sixth-place long jump showing. On the women’s side under Smith’s direction, sophomore Richardson earned NCAA Outdoor All-America honors by taking sixth in the triple jump. At the conference level, Smith coached Richardson to a runner-up triple jump finish. Richardson also made an appearance at the NCAA Indoor meet finishing 15th in the event.
In 2013, Smith quickly turned first-year athletes Obi and Richardson into the nation’s best. In the indoor season with Smith’s guidance, Obi became BU’s first men’s athlete to win the Big 12 triple jump crown. In the process of winning that title, Obi took down the school record for the third time. He followed that up with a sixth place finish at the NCAA meet to be an All-American. Outdoors, Obi established a school record [52-9.25 [16.08m] and won two triple jump meet titles at the Baylor Quad Invitational and the Florida Relays. Richardson took fourth at the Big 12 meet in the triple jump indoors, before placing third during the outdoor season. Outside the collegiate season, Smith helped Richardson win the triple jump title at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships, while Obi was the runner-up on the men’s side. Both athletes went on to compete for Team USA at the Pan-American Junior Championships with Obi placing third and Richardson fourth under Smith’s watch.
From 2010-12, Smith guided Jessica Ubanyionwu to new heights, as the triple jumper emerged as one of the nation’s best, earning three All-America honors. Ubanyionwu, who earned All-Big 12 honors indoors and outdoors, moved into second place all-time on the BU record books in the triple jump. She set career-bests with an indoor leap of 43-6m in 2012 and an outdoor mark of 44-1.25m in 2011.
During 2008 and 2009, Smith guided sophomore DeAna Carson to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championships, culminating in an All-America performance in the long jump in 2009. Carson earned All-Big 12 honors indoors and outdoors, while breaking the BU indoor long jump record with a leap of 21-4.75m at the national meet.
In 2006, Chris Gillis emerged as a one of the nation’s top long jumpers under Smith’s guidance, finishing third at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Gillis claimed the Big 12 title, finished second at the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional and joined assistant head coach Danny Brabham as the only Baylor leapers to long jump more than 26 feet. Gillis first broke through with a second place finish at the 2004 Midwest Regional Championships and earned All-America honors by finishing eighth at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Also in 2006, Queito Teasley earned indoor and outdoor All-Big 12 honors, finishing sixth at each conference meet.
Prior to her tutelage of Gillis, Smith helped April Holliness become a five-time All-American in the long jump and claim the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional title. During her career, Holliness finished as high as third in the long jump at the NCAA Championships.
During her collegiate days, Smith became Baylor’s first female individual NCAA national champion when she won the 1999 outdoor triple jump with a leap of 45-10m. She earned All-America honors nine times, including three on relays and six individually. Her nine overall and six individual All-American awards each rank second all-time in Baylor history.
Smith was Baylor’s first female athlete to become a member of a U.S. National team, competing in the 1998 Goodwill Games. She continued her success as a member of the 1999 World Championship team. Smith was a force within the Big 12, sweeping the indoor and outdoor triple jump titles in 1998 and again in 1999. With four conference titles to her credit, she is tied for fourth all-time at Baylor. Smith also won the 1999 USA triple jump crown with a leap of 45-2.5m.
She is married to Rodney Smith, a former Baylor football and basketball player (1996-99) and the couple are the proud parents of two children, Sydney and London. A product of La Vega High School in Bellmead, Texas, Smith received her degree in education in 2000 and her master’s degree in sport management from Baylor in May 2002. She was inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2017.