Former University of Kentucky women’s basketball assistant coach Amber Smith was hired to the Indiana women’s basketball coaching staff, per an Indiana athletics release Monday. Smith, who likewise joins Indiana in an assistant coaching role, spent seven seasons with Kentucky.
"I am thrilled that Amber is joining us in Bloomington," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said in Monday’s release. "Amber is passionate, high energy, excellent at building relationships and is the ultimate competitor that will fit in perfectly to our culture.”
Smith started her tenure at Kentucky as the director of player development in 2016. She was appointed as an assistant coach in 2018 and remained there until signing with Indiana.
During her coaching career at Kentucky, she continued her work in player development and is credited with helping produce talents such as Taylor Murray, Jaida Roper, Jada Walker and the first overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, Rhyne Howard.
Spanning Smith’s seven seasons at Kentucky, the Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the 2018-2019 season, were ranked top-20 nationally at the end of the 2019-2020 season, reached the semifinals of the 2021 SEC Tournament and ultimately won the program’s second SEC Tournament championship in 2022.
