Hired on Aug. 10, 2009, Oklahoma assistant men's golf coach Blake Smart has been crucial to the Sooners' speedy return to the national spotlight. The 2011-12 season marks Smart's third with the program.
In 2010-11, Smart helped the Sooners to their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2006 and to a No. 28 final Golfweek/Sagarin national ranking. The Sooners, led by first-team all-region selections Abraham Ancer and Ryan Sirman, closed the year with 10 top-10 finishes, including two runner-up showings and a record-setting victory at the Desert Shootout in Goodyear, Ariz., in which they shot 48 under par to win by 22 strokes.
The Desert Shootout featured three of the lowest seven team rounds in program history. Also included were the two best individual 54-hole scores in OU annals -- Ancer's 21-under-par 195 and Will Kropp's 15-under 201.
Additionally, The 2010-11 squad set a school record with a 290.27 scoring average and tied a school best with 14 rounds of par or better.
In his first season at OU, Smart helped direct the Sooners to a team title at the season-opening Kansas Invitational and the Sooners went on to record 10 top-10 finishes. With Smart's assistance, the Sooners closed the 2009-10 season with seven straight top-10 results, including seventh-place or better in five of those outings. Individually, senior Ben Blundell qualified for the 2010 NCAA Regional in Bremerton, Wash.
Smart had been the head coach at Kennesaw State for three seasons prior to arriving at Oklahoma, quickly turning the Owls into one of the top golf programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
"Blake has been a great addition to our staff here at the University of Oklahoma," said OU head coach Ryan Hybl. |
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| The Smart File |
| Hometown |
Cornelia, Ga. |
| College |
Berry College, 2004 |
| Family |
Wife, Caroline |
| Coaching History |
| 2009-present - Oklahoma Assistant Coach |
| 2006-09 - Kennesaw State Head Coach |
| 2004-2006 - Berry College Assistant Coach |
| Coaching Honors |
| Coached five different KSU golfers to Atlantic Sun honors |
| Recruited and coached U.S. Open participant Matt Nagy |
| 2008-09 squad climbed as high as No. 44 in Golfstat |
| Led KSU to three wins in three years as head coach |
| Playing Experience |
| 1999-04 - Berry College |
| Playing Honors |
| NAIA honorable mention All-American |
| Two-time all-conference selection |
| Two-time academic All-American |
| A member of two NAIA Championship runner-up teams |
"He is a tremendous asset that has brought a lot of experience as a former head coach and provides everything we need to be successful on the level this program is capable of being."
"He is a well-rounded person who is very knowledgeable about the game from both a coach and player perspective," added Hybl. "He is a great complement to what we are focused on doing."
The 30-year-old Smart guided KSU to eight top-10 finishes during the 2008-09 season, including a second-place finish at the Samford Intercollegiate and a third-place showing at the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate. Smart coached five different players to Atlantic Sun honors in his three seasons with the Black and Gold, while one of his top recruits, Matt Nagy, qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open and became the first-ever Kennesaw State golfer to participate in a major championship.
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