William Carey University

Ben Smith begins his 16th season as the assistant baseball coach at William Carey. Smith will work with infielders and hitters in 2023 and will coach first base.

Smith, a Laurel, Miss. native, first arrived at William Carey in 2004 as an infielder/pitcher out of Laurel High School. In his playing time with the Crusaders, he was a member of the 2005 GCAC Championship team and 2 NAIA Regional teams (2005 and 2007).

Smith joined the Crusader baseball coaching staff in the fall of 2008 and helped lead the Crusaders to a GCAC Championship and NAIA National Tournament in his first season in 2009.

In 2010, Smith became the first ever coach of the Men's and Women's Cross Country teams at William Carey. He continued to split time between baseball and cross country for five years. In 5 years of coaching cross country, WCU produced two NAIA All-Americans, 3 SSAC Individual Conference Champions, and 14 All-SSAC runners. Smith's 2014 Men's Cross Country team won the SSAC Championship and advanced to the NAIA National Championship. Smith was awarded with the 2014 SSAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honor.

In 2011, Smith took over the WCU pitching staff and coached Carey pitchers through 2019. The Crusaders had several All-SSAC selections during this time, as well as one MLB Draft pick. In 2013, the Crusader staff posted a 3.57 ERA and Carey hosted an NAIA Opening Round. In 2016, the Crusaders returned to the NAIA National Tournament and finished runner-up in the Santa Barbara Opening Round after posting 40 wins for the first time since 2004.

In 2017, Smith helped lead the Crusaders to an NAIA Opening Round Championship and a berth in the 2017 NAIA World Series where the Crusaders finished 3rd, the highest finish at William Carey since 1969. The 2018 Crusaders, once again, finished runner-up after hosting an NAIA Opening Round, falling one game shy of a repeat trip to the NAIA World Series.

In 2021, the Crusaders hit over .300 as a team en route to winning the SSAC Tournament before falling one game short of the NAIA World Series. The 2022 Crusaders repeated as SSAC Tournament Champions while once again hitting over .315 as a team.

In 2023, Smith helped lead Carey back to the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2017. The ’23 team shattered almost every offensive record in the process and set an SSAC record for winning percentage along with winning the SSAC Regular Season Championship. The season ended with another semi-final finish in Lewiston.

Smith earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from William Carey in 2008 and a Master of Education in 2012. He is the author of a weekly column and was awarded as the #1 Weekly Sportswriter in Mississippi in 2021 by the Mississippi Press Association. He also serves in the William Carey School of Arts and Letters as a history instructor.

Smith has been married to his wife, the former Amy Perry, for 13 years and they have three daughters (Mackenzie, Collins, and Allie).