Lewis University Director of Athletics Dr. John Planek announced on Monday (May 22) that he has hired Samantha Quigley Smith as the 13th head women’s basketball coach in school-history.
“The Lewis women’s basketball program has a forged a formidable path at the Division II level and we certainly feel that Coach (Samantha) Quigley Smith can help us continue on this path of excellence,” Planek said.
Planek will introduce Quigley Smith at 10:30 AM on Thursday (May 25) in the Brent and Jean Wadsworth Family Gallery located in the Oremus Fine Arts Center.
The public is invited to attend the announcement and meet the Flyers’ new head coach. Parking will be available in Lot G and the Oremus Fine Arts Center is located north of the parking lot. If you cannot make it to the press conference, it will be streamed live via www.LewisFlyers.com.
Quigley comes to Lewis via the University of St. Francis in Joliet, where the Fighting Saints recorded a mark of 101-62 (.62) in her five seasons (2012-17) as head coach. She served as an assistant coach for USF in 2011-12 under her uncle and former Lewis University head women’s basketball coach Brian Michalak. Michalak was Lewis’ head women’s basketball coach from 1993-2002.
“I am so very excited to accept the position as Lewis University’s head women’s basketball coach,” Quigley Smith said. “Coaching at the NCAA level and in such a great conference like the Great Lakes Valley Conference has been a dream of mine and I cannot wait to get started.”
Quigley Smith believes that Lewis is a perfect fit for her family.
“What attracted me to the position was that Lewis is a Catholic Institution with a similar value system (to St. Francis),” Quigley Smith continued. “The athletic department has been extremely successful and I certainly look forward to being a part of that!”
While excited for the next chapter in her life, Quigley Smith is thankful for her time in Joliet.
“My experiences at St. Francis have certainly prepared me for this opportunity and I cannot thank them enough,” Quigley Smith said. “USF gave me my first start at a young age and that is something I will forever be grateful for.
“The people I’ve worked with and the student-athletes that have been a part of our success at St. Francis made this decision extremely difficult,” Quigley Smith continued. “I would also like to thank my husband (Greg) and entire family for being so helpful and supportive through the process.
“They have been my biggest fans and I love them for that!”
In the past two seasons, the Fighting Saints have registered a mark of 62-7 (.899) with two Top 10 finishes in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll, including a No. 1 ranking in the final 2017 poll. Her 2015-16 squad was the first USF team to advance to the NAIA National Tournament in 13 seasons. In that span, Quigley Smith mentored All-Americans in Charnelle Reed and Jordan Giddings.
Last year, Quigley Smith guided USF to a mark of 34-2, helping the Fighting Saints to an undefeated slate in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) and a berth in the NAIA Division II Semifinals. One of those 34 wins was an 80-69 victory in December over then-No. 18 ranked Lewis.
For her efforts, Quigley Smith was named the CCAC Coach of the Year for a second-consecutive season. She was also selected as the Illinois Basketball Coach Association (IBCA) Coach of the Year and a WBCA/United States Marine Corps NAIA National Coach of the Year Award finalist.
Academics are important to Quigley Smith as well, as she propelled USF’s team cumulative grade point average from 2.35 to 3.5 during her tenure. She had several student-athletes with a 4.0 grade point average and had two achieve WBCA Academic All-America status.
Quigley Smith also brings an international flair to Romeoville as she has spent the last two summers as an assistant coach with USA Basketball, serving on the staff of the Women’s U17 National Team in 2016 and the U16 National Team, which captured the bronze medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Puebla, Mexico.
Quigley Smith is a highly decorated former Division I student-athlete, as she played for DePaul from 2006-11. She left the Lincoln Park campus with 1,273 points scored – good for 20th in school-history – and third in Blue Demon history with 484 assists.
The 2006 Joliet Catholic graduate was a two-time All-Big East selection and was named an Honorable Mention WBCA All-American in 2011 and a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as a senior. The same season, Quigley Smith earned Capital One Academic All-District honors and was the recipient of the Big East Sportsmanship Award.
As a high school senior, Quigley Smith was selected as the 2006 Chicago Sun-Times Female Athlete of the Year as a basketball, volleyball and softball standout. She was a two-time Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-State First Team and Associated Press Class AA All-State Third Team selection in basketball, as she finished with 1,910 career points in a JCA uniform. Following her senior season, Quigley was a Parade All-American and McDonald’s All-America nominee.
Quigley Smith has ties to Lewis, as the Fighting Saints play on Pat Quigley Court – named after her late father (and former Lewis head women’s tennis coach) – in the Sullivan Center named for Lewis Hall of Famer Pat Sullivan (basketball/baseball). Sullivan went on to St. Francis (Ill.) where he coached Quigley Smith’s stepfather Don Strle on the basketball court.
Quigley Smith replaces Kristen Gillespie who was named the head women’s basketball coach at Illinois State in April. She inherits a squad that features 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the fifth-straight season.
She resides in Shorewood, Ill., with her husband Greg Smith and sons Cooper, Jackson and daughter Logan.
Tagged with: DII Head Coach
