Dennis Gates has hired the third assistant coach to his new Missouri staff, and all 3 have previous head coaching experience.
The latest coach, the school announced, is Kyle Smithpeters, a former junior college coach to his staff. Smithpeters joins the Tigers following a successful 10-year stint as the head coach at John A. Logan Community College. He compiled an overall record of 241-73, including 20 or more wins in eight of the last nine seasons. He earned Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors 6 times over his first 8 seasons as a head coach.
Smithpeters joins associate head coach Charlton Young and assistant coach Dickey Nutt on the bench.
At John A. Logan, Smithpeters coached 7 All-Americans and 2 NJCAA Players of the Year, sending over 40 players to Division I programs. Smithpeters led John A. Logan to a 29-4 overall record in 2021-22.
“Excited and grateful to be joining Coach Gates and his staff at Mizzou,” Smithpeters said. “I have known Coach Gates for the better part of 15 years and his integrity and work ethic are at the highest standards. The opportunity to join a veteran staff at such a fine university was hard to pass up. The rich academic and athletic tradition represents everything a student-athlete should want.”
“Kyle is a well-respected coach, regardless of level,” Gates said. “He is a great teacher, evaluator and recruiter. I have had a front row seat for 15 years watching him prepare for this opportunity, but also build John A. Logan College into the power it is today. After attempting to hire Coach Smithpeters three years ago, I am excited to see him join the greats who have made this transition before him. It’s no better time to welcome Coach Smithpeters and his family to our staff, the city of Columbia and Mizzou.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
