MIDDLESEX COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH WINSTON SMITH NAMED GSAC COACH OF THE YEAR

In just his second year as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Middlesex College, Winston Smith led the Colts to a historic season as the program competed at the NJCAA Division II scholarship level for the first time.

Smith guided the Middlesex College Men's Basketball team to a 20-9 overall record and regular season Garden State Athletic Conference title and can now add his own accolade to his profile.

Smith was named the Garden State Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year in voting done by his peers.

"Coach Smith deserves all the recognition he receives," said Middlesex College Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino. "He not only navigated through many obstacles to have a tremendous record, but he also stresses academics, campus engagement and community service in his program. He's been an outstanding leader as a head coach in every way you can ask."

Middlesex started the season hot right out of the gate, winning their first seven games and garnering votes in the NJCAA Division II National Poll. This run included a win over NJCAA Region 19 Tournament Champion Raritan Valley. After hitting a bit of a rough patch in December, Smith righted the ship and regrouped his team going into the New Year.

The Colts responded with a 10-game winning streak and culminated their regular season by grabbing the #3 seed in the NJCAA Region 19 Tournament. The Colts season came to an end on a two-point loss when #2 County College of Morris hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds in the game.

The trademark of Smith's teams in his two seasons at Middlesex has been his defense. In 2023-24, the Colts were in the top 50 nationally among 156 teams in opponent field goal percentage, blocks and opponent's three-point percentage. The Colts allowed opponents to hit just 125 three-pointers this season, the sixth lowest total in the nation among Division II schools.

In addition to Smith's two seasons as a Head Coach at Middlesex, he has 20 years of experience as a top Assistant Coach at NCAA Division I schools, Wagner, Drexel and Fairleigh Dickinson. Prior to his coaching career, Smith was the captain of the 2001 UMass Basketball team and had a fantastic career for the Minutemen. Smith had an All-State career as a high school player for St. Patrick's of Elizabeth as well.