Former Ohio State shooting guard Katie Smith is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and set the record for points scored by either a man or woman in the Big Ten during her four-season collegiate career from 1992 to 1996. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Former Ohio State great Katie Smith will be a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2018 class.
She, along with six other former players and coaches, were announced as this year’s inductees during halftime of Monday’s Louisville-Connecticut game after being named finalists in January. Smith is the first member of the hall of fame from Ohio State.
Smith played for the Buckeyes from 1992 to 1996, graduating as both the program’s and conference’s all-time leading scorer. During her years with Ohio State, she was a two-time All-American and won Big Ten Player of the Year her senior year. She averaged 18.1 points per game her freshman year when Ohio State finished its best year in program history as national runner-up.
Smith was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
“Unbelievable player, one of the best to ever do it. One of the great competitors,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. “You watch her play, she’s so competitive. I think that’s what really separated her from a lot of people throughout the history of the game. [She] means a lot to women’s basketball, but is unbelievably impactful to Ohio State.
Smith played 15 seasons in the WNBA, winning two championships and becoming one of the league’s top all-time scorers. Smith currently ranks fifth all-time scoring with 6,452 points. She also won three Olympic gold medals.
After retiring in 2013, Smith became an assistant coach for former Detroit Pistons center Bill Laimbeer with the WNBA’s New York Liberty. She was promoted to head coach this past offseason.
Smith will have a homecoming a sorts when she and the rest of the 2018 hall of fame class are introduced during the Final Four at Nationwide Arena, which takes place March 30 through April 1.
