Nevada Smith’s chance to lead a Division I men’s basketball program has arrived.
The Kiski Area graduate is in line to be named the coach at Siena, according to CBS Sports.
Sources: Marquette's Nevada Smith has agreed in principle to be the next head coach at Siena.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 1, 2026
He will get a chance to lead his own team after working the past six seasons on the staff of Shaka Smart at Texas and Marquette.
The 44-year-old West Leechburg native, known as an offensive guru, was Smart’s director of program development at Texas for one season. He then was hired as special assistant to the head coach for two seasons at Marquette before spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles.
Prior to his tenure at Texas, Smith was coach of the NBA G-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce for three seasons (2016-19) and Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2013-15) for two seasons.
Sioux Falls, a Miami Heat affiliate, went 78-72 under Smith, and he was 57-44 with the Vipers (Houston Rockets).
Smith, who is named after one of the main characters in the Harold Robbins book “The Carpet Baggers,” also had stops as head coach at Keystone College and SUNY Canton and assistant positions at Ithaca, Allegheny and St. Lawrence (N.Y.).
He led the nation in 3-pointers per game as a junior at Bethany, where he scored 1,255 points and also made all-conference as a golfer.
Smith will replace Gerry McNamara, who led Siena to the NCAA Tournament this season before accepting the coaching position at his alma mater, Syracuse.
McNamara was 37-30 in two seasons at Siena, a Loudonville, N.Y.-based school that nearly upset top-seeded Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.