Congratulations to Coach Ben Smith who has been appointed as the new Baldwin High School varsity boys basketball coach by the Baldwin County Board of Education. Smith is a native of Dublin, Georgia and graduated from the Dublin City School system where he excelled as point guard. He led the school to its first Georgia State Basketball Championship in 2006 and was recognized as AA Georgia State Boys Player of the Year.
Smith continued his basketball career at Jacksonville University where he finished as the all-time leader in steals, assists, minutes played, and free-throws made. He finished second in career point and three-pointers. He graduated from Jacksonville University with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Administration.
In 2016, he was inducted into the Jacksonville University Hall of Fame and in 2021, his jersey was retired alongside greats such as Dee Brown and Artis Gilmore. In 2022, he was inducted into the Atlantic Sun Hall of Fame. Smith went on to play professional basketball overseas for seven years in Greece, Sweden, England, China, Iceland, and France.
Smith has achieved incredible success with the Dublin Fighting Irish. In the 2022-23 season, he led the team to a 20-8 record and propelled them to the second round in the GHSA Class A Division I. In the 2021-22 season, Dublin had an even more impressive record of 28-2, as they remained undefeated as region champions.
The team continued to thrive under Smith's leadership. In fact, this was the second season in a row that Dublin won the region championship without a loss, as the 2020-21 team went 27-2 and lost by one point in the state playoffs, in the semifinals to Hancock Central 73-72. With Smith at the helm, Baldwin County is certain to achieve great things.
Smith is the husband of Dr. Tiffany Smith and the father of Benjamin Rey and Odyssey Jordyn.
