University of Minnesota Athletics
Softball
Annie Smith
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- smi02496@umn.edu
With more than 20 years of coaching wealth, knowledge, and experience, assistant coach Annie Smith enters her third season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers heading into 2025.
Smtih finished her second season developing All-Big Ten First Team selections Jess Oakland and Taylor Krapf, as well as All-Big Ten Second Team honorees Morgan DeBord and Sydney Strelow. With her guidance, Oakland was named a 2024 NFCA Second Team All-American and was recognized as the 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year.
In her first season under head coach Piper Ritter, Smith helped Minnesota to a third place finish in conference play and berth to the 2023 NCAA Tournament at the Seattle Regional. She paved the way for 2023 NFCA All-Americans Taylor Krapf and Autumn Pease and contributed experience to five All-Big Ten team selections for Minnesota, the most of any school in 2023.
Prior to Minnesota, Smith was part of the 2021 Razorbacks coaching staff that earned NFCA South Region Staff of the Year honors for capturing the school’s first SEC regular season title with a 43-11 (19-5 SEC) record. Working with the outfielders, she helped the defense post a school record .973 fielding percentage.
Smith served the 2018 and 2019 seasons as an assistant coach at Auburn and was part of two, 40-plus win seasons and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2018. She also boasts professional coaching experience as she was an assistant for the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) in 2017.
For six seasons between 2012-17, Smith served as the head coach at Georgia Southern where she compiled a 176-166 record and twice reached the NCAA Tournament (2012, 2013). She led the Eagles to Southern Conference regular season championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and two conference tournament titles in 2012 and 2013. For her efforts, Smith was honored as the conference's coach of the year in 2012 and 2014. In 2012, Smith guided Georgia Southern to a 44-22 overall record and a 22-2 mark in the SoCon, setting school records for most overall and conference wins in a season. She stands as the quickest coach in Georgia Southern history to 100 wins. She was instrumental in the development of the three-time conference pitcher of the year and the two-time freshman of the year in the league.
Before Georgia Southern, Smith spent nine seasons on staff at Mississippi State and earned the title of associate head coach following the 2007 season. She helped the Bulldogs to 295 victories and six NCAA Regional appearances. She also worked with three USA Softball National Team members and the back-to-back SEC Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. From 1999-2002 Smith served as an assistant coach at Missouri after spending 1996-99 as a graduate assistant for the Tigers. While at Missouri, she helped the team appear in two NCAA Tournaments and capture the 1997 Big 12 Conference title.
The Manhattan, Kan., native was a team captain at Grinnell College (Iowa) where she graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Psychology. Smith later graduated with a Master of Education degree in Health and Exercise Sciences with an emphasis in Sports Psychology from Missouri in 2002.
Smtih finished her second season developing All-Big Ten First Team selections Jess Oakland and Taylor Krapf, as well as All-Big Ten Second Team honorees Morgan DeBord and Sydney Strelow. With her guidance, Oakland was named a 2024 NFCA Second Team All-American and was recognized as the 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year.
In her first season under head coach Piper Ritter, Smith helped Minnesota to a third place finish in conference play and berth to the 2023 NCAA Tournament at the Seattle Regional. She paved the way for 2023 NFCA All-Americans Taylor Krapf and Autumn Pease and contributed experience to five All-Big Ten team selections for Minnesota, the most of any school in 2023.
Prior to Minnesota, Smith was part of the 2021 Razorbacks coaching staff that earned NFCA South Region Staff of the Year honors for capturing the school’s first SEC regular season title with a 43-11 (19-5 SEC) record. Working with the outfielders, she helped the defense post a school record .973 fielding percentage.
Smith served the 2018 and 2019 seasons as an assistant coach at Auburn and was part of two, 40-plus win seasons and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2018. She also boasts professional coaching experience as she was an assistant for the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) in 2017.
For six seasons between 2012-17, Smith served as the head coach at Georgia Southern where she compiled a 176-166 record and twice reached the NCAA Tournament (2012, 2013). She led the Eagles to Southern Conference regular season championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and two conference tournament titles in 2012 and 2013. For her efforts, Smith was honored as the conference's coach of the year in 2012 and 2014. In 2012, Smith guided Georgia Southern to a 44-22 overall record and a 22-2 mark in the SoCon, setting school records for most overall and conference wins in a season. She stands as the quickest coach in Georgia Southern history to 100 wins. She was instrumental in the development of the three-time conference pitcher of the year and the two-time freshman of the year in the league.
Before Georgia Southern, Smith spent nine seasons on staff at Mississippi State and earned the title of associate head coach following the 2007 season. She helped the Bulldogs to 295 victories and six NCAA Regional appearances. She also worked with three USA Softball National Team members and the back-to-back SEC Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. From 1999-2002 Smith served as an assistant coach at Missouri after spending 1996-99 as a graduate assistant for the Tigers. While at Missouri, she helped the team appear in two NCAA Tournaments and capture the 1997 Big 12 Conference title.
The Manhattan, Kan., native was a team captain at Grinnell College (Iowa) where she graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Psychology. Smith later graduated with a Master of Education degree in Health and Exercise Sciences with an emphasis in Sports Psychology from Missouri in 2002.
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