E.J. Lee Smith is in her fourth year as head coach of the Sul Ross State women's basketball team.
During her first season in 2022-2023, Smith led the Lobos to a 15-11 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the American Southwest Conference (D-III), the best overall record and conference mark in program history. She helped Sul Ross State qualify for the ASC tournament for the third straight year (2021-2023), while coaching five All-Conference players including Freshman of the Year (Melody Martinez). Martinez was also named D3hoops.com Region 10 Rookie of the Year.
In her second season, Smith coached three All-Conference players. She also helped Marley Rokas, one of the best players in program history, to become the eighth Lobo to enter the 1,000-point club. In her third season, Smith helped the women's basketball program transition to Division II to compete in the Lone Star Conference. In her three years at Sul Ross, Smith coached a total of 10 players who received All-Conference honors.
Smith was awarded the Sul Ross Academic Excellence in Coaching Award in 2023, with a 100% graduation rate and an average GPA of 3.5 amongst her student-athletes. NCAA selected Smith as one of the coaching staff to lead the 2023 NCAA College Basketball Academy to develop invite-only student-athletes who aim to play collegiate ball.
Smith, a native of Gimje, South Korea, spent 30 years coaching at her alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, before stepping down as the associate head coach in 2019.
She broke into the Division I coaching world in 1989 as a part-time volunteer assistant at ULM. Smith was later promoted to associate head women's basketball coach, a title she held for 13 years. Smith was a fixture in the Monroe town, developing long-lasting community relationships and leading the summer ULM training camps for thousands of young girls and women for over a decade. She also helped maintain a 98% team graduation rate throughout her ULM coaching career while being part of a program that notched four Southland Conference Championship appearances.
Prior to Sul Ross State, she was the head coach at the high school level at River Oaks School in Monroe, La., for three years where she successfully improved the winning record each season.
Before immigrating to America as one of the first international student-athletes in the NCAA, Smith was part of a championship team at Soongeui Girls' High School in Seoul, South Korea. After high school, Smith was selected as the #1 pick for a semi-professional basketball league in Korea. Smith then was recruited by legendary Coach Linda Harper with a full scholarship ride by ULM (formerly known as Northeast Louisiana University) where she was rated the top women's college basketball player as a point guard from 1982-1986.
As captain of the team, she guided ULM to an overall record of 102-15 in her four years. With key contributions from teammates like Lisa Ingram, Chana Perry, Chrissa Hailey, and Jocelyn Hill, she helped lead the program to its first and only Final Four appearance during the 1984-1985 season as it finished 30-2 overall and undefeated in the Southland Conference. During her college career, Smith and the ULM women's basketball team defeated historic programs led by USC's Cheryl Miller and LA-Tech's Kim Mulkey.
During her collegiate career, Smith was named a three-time All-American, Naismith College Player of the Year Finalist, Wade Trophy Finalist, and the 1986 Number One Point Guard In the Nation. In addition, she earned Southland Conference Player of the Year honors four times, one of only four men or women to accomplish this feat. After her senior year, Smith was named the Southland Conference Player of the Decade and a member of the All-Decade Team.
To this day, she holds school records in most free throws made, most free throws attempted, most assists, highest assist average, most steals, most games started, most games played, and most consecutive games played.
Smith played professionally overseas for Club Visby AIK in Visby, Sweden, and Felisatta in Ferrara, Italy, for two seasons from 1986-1989. After leading both teams in scoring and assists, Smith received Most Valuable Player awards for Club Visby and Felisatta. She was voted as a member of the Italian league's All-Star team.
She was the seventh woman to be inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame as she became a part of the exclusive club in 1998. In 1991, she was inducted into the ULM Hall of Fame while also having her jersey retired to the Fant-Ewing Coliseum rafters. Smith still competes with her former ULM teammates, like Lisa Ingram and Chrissa Hailey, in the National Senior Olympics, having won the Bronze Medal for basketball in 2023.
Smith is married to Dale Smith. They have three children, Peter, Kristina and Gabrielle. They also has a granddaughter Emory Harper Jones from her daughter Kristina and son-in-law Paul Jones.
