The 2009 NAIA Coach of the Year and six-time Golden State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Mike Smith, led the California Baptist University to its first national title in 2009. Smith returns for his seventh season at the helm of the California Baptist softball program.

In six seasons as the Lancers’ head coach, Smith has created a perennial powerhouse in the NAIA.

The Lancers not only brought home the school's first national title in 2009, but won a school record 61 games and had three named NAIA All-American. Smith coached his third straight NAIA Pitcher of the Year. CBU won its sxith straight GSAC title and is the only school with more than five conference championships as the Lancers have won eight total.

In 2008 the Lancers set a school-record for wins, going 60-8, 23-1 in GSAC, and became the first school in the history of the conference to win five straight GSAC titles. CBU reached the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth straight year with the Lancers finishing fourth.

In his first season in 2004, he led the Lancers to a school-record 45 wins, their first GSAC championship and their first NAIA Tournament appearance, finishing seventh.

As if 2004 was not good enough, Smith and the Lancers did even better in 2005. The Lancers claimed their second straight GSAC title with a 23-3 mark, won their first NAIA Region II championship and then went on to the NAIA tournament again, this time advancing to the championship game where they fell to Simon Fraser (B.C.).

Smith was also named GSAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, and the third time in his career.

The 2006 Lancers also reached the NAIA championship game, losing, 4-1, to Mobile (Ala.). CBU again set a record, with 57 wins against just seven losses, and set 10 of 12 overall offensive school records in the process. The Lancers also won the GSAC and NAIA Region II championships.

In 2007, his team entered the NAIA record books on 40 different occasions with 11 being brand new records. The other 29 were top 10 entries. CBU went 59-5 on its way to a fourth straight GSAC title and a third straight Region II title.

In 10 years as a head coach, Smith is 445-159 (.737).

No stranger to the GSAC, Smith’s first head coaching job was at GSAC-rival Biola, where he took over a struggling program (one that had gone 17-133 in its five previous seasons) and turned it into one of the GSAC’s best.

He went 156-72 in four seasons (1999-2002). Under Smith, the Eagles qualified for the regional playoffs in three of his four years, winning the 2002 title. Smith was named the GSAC Coach of the Year in 2001 as Biola won the GSAC title. That team was also ranked as high as No. 4 in the country and won a school-record 50 games.

In nine GSAC seasons at CBU and Biola, Smith has produced 14 All-Americans, 33 All-GSAC and 12 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

In 2005, Smith coached Tami Trujillo and Candice Thomas, the GSAC and NAIA Region II Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively and last two years he coached the 2007 and 2008 NAIA Pitcher of the Year Amy Thomas.

Smith left Biola to become an assistant coach at UC Riverside prior to the 2003 season. However, three days before the season began, the head coach resigned and Smith was elevated to interim head coach. With little time to create his own imprint on the program, the Highlanders went 13-45.

A long-time professional baseball player who had a distinguished career, Smith was a pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization from 1992-94, reaching the Class AA level. He also played for a number of independent league teams from 1994-2001, and 2005, including the Chico (Calif.) Heat, St. George (Utah) Pioneerzz, Mission Viejo (Calif.) Vigilantes, Long Beach (Calif.) Riptide and Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) Cyclones. In 1997 and 1998, he was the Western Baseball League’s Pitcher of the Year with Mission Viejo, and in 2000, he was MVP of the WBL Championship Series with St. George.

In 2005, Smith started nine games for the Fullerton Flyers of the independent Golden State Baseball League.

Prior to becoming Biola’s softball coach, he was the pitching coach for the Eagles’ baseball team from 1996-98. The 1998 squad won the GSAC title. Smith was also a teacher and coach at Heritage Christian School in Anaheim, Calif., from 1993-96, where he also served as a head coach for baseball, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball, as well as an assistant football coach and assistant athletic director.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from The Master’s College in 1992. He earned all-district honors in 1991 and 1992 as a pitcher on the baseball team. Smith went on to receive a teaching credential from Cal State Fullerton in 1998.

He and his wife, Ellen, have two children, Ashlee and Tyler.