July 15, 2011
Vanderbilt head men’s golf coach Tom Shaw has announced that Dusty Smith, who had served as an assistant coach at Lamar University for the past three seasons, has accepted the same position with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Smith replaces Justin Emil, who left the program earlier this summer to become Rice University’s new head coach.
“Dustin is a terrific addition to the Men’s Golf Program,” said Shaw. “He brings an impressive resume as a player, coach, and recruiter that will elevate our team performance now and into the future. Dustin’s career as a player, from an unheralded recruit to earning All-American honors for a top-10 nationally ranked team, really resonated with me. His attention to detail and impressive work ethic as a player and coach is something the players can learn from and emulate. I am very pleased that Dustin will be joining the Vanderbilt family.”
Smith, a former Ping All-American, served as an assistant coach with the men’s and women’s golf teams at Lamar, his alma mater.
During Smith’s three years at Lamar, the Cardinals men’s team won the 2009 Southland Conference Championship and finished second in 2011, advancing to the NCAA Regional at Virginia Tech in May. Smith helped lead eight men’s golfers to the All-Southland Conference team during his tenure, and also coached Southland Conference Player of the Year M.J. Daffue in 2011.
The Lady Cardinals picked up six tournament victories in his tenure at Lamar, and finished second in the 2011 Southland Conference Tournament. Five Lady Cardinal golfers earned All-SLC honors, with Therese Nilsson (2009) and Stine Pedersen (2011) being named the SLC Academic Student-Athlete of the Year for women’s golf.
“I’m very excited and this is a great opportunity for me,” said Smith. “It was hard to leave my alma mater, and Lamar is, and will always be, a very special place to me. But, to get an opportunity to coach at an outstanding institution like Vanderbilt and in a great conference like the SEC was too good for me to pass up.”
A native of The Woodlands, Smith earned honorable mention Ping All-America honors as a junior at Lamar after tying for 10th at the NCAA Championships. The following year, Smith earned All-Southland Conference honors for the third time as Lamar finished third at the NCAA Championships.
Smith, who helped The Woodlands High School win the 2002 Class 5A state championship, is a 2007 graduate of Lamar with a degree in business administration.