San Diego State Head Volleyball Coach Deitre Collins-Parker announced the hiring of Michelle Chatman-Smith on Jan. 16, 2016, as an assistant coach for the Aztec program. Chatman-Smith arrived at SDSU after eight seasons as an assistant with the Central Florida volleyball program.
"I'm excited to have Michelle Chatman-Smith join our Aztec family, commented Collins-Parker. "Michelle is well respected in the coaching community for her work ethic and commitment to the sport. She is a talented recruiter and a very skilled coach who will step in and make an immediate impact on our program.
"Her immediate duties will be to oversee team defensive training. While Melanie Greene becomes the recruiting coordinator, Michelle will work with Melanie to continue to bring in top student-athletes. Michelle recently married Rod Smith who is studying Leadership at USD and the timing worked out perfectly for her to join our program with Kevin Campbell's move back to the East Coast."
At Central Florida, Chatman-Smith served as the program's recruiting coordinator and middle-blocker coach. Under her tutelage, the front line for the Knights took its game to the next level. From 2012-14 she helped middle blocker DeLaina Sarden earn honorable mention All-America accolades three straight seasons and also coached Kaye-Alese Green to the same honor in 2014.
Thanks to her work on the recruiting trail, the Knights' 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes were recognized by PrepVolleyball.com as one of the top 100 recruiting classes in the nation.
Chatman-Smith came to UCF after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Georgetown University. As an assistant at with the Hoyas, Chatman-Smith coordinated all recruiting efforts, while also serving as the director of operations for the team, managing travel and equipment.
Prior to being named an assistant at Georgetown, Chatman-Smith spent the 2005 season as a student assistant coach at the University of Florida, her alma mater. While assisting the Gators, the team posted a 33-3 overall record and made an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.
Chatman-Smith was a four-year letterwinner while a member of the Gators' squad and was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mention selection as a middle blocker following her 2004 season. She earned her first All-America honor of her career after a senior season that saw her post the ninth-best single-season hitting percentage in UF history (.393). Chatman-smith also garnered AVCA East Region accolades in 2002.
During her four seasons as a Gator, the volleyball team posted a 126-10 overall record and made four-consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the NCAA Final Four in 2002 and the national championship match in 2003.
Chatman-Smith has also managed camps for the Girls Club of Alachua County (Fla.) and was an assistant coach for the Gainesville Juniors Volleyball Club. During the summer of 2011 she served as an assistant coach for the USA Volleyball Women's National A2 Program.
Originally from Woodridge, Ill., Chatman-Smith earned a bachelor's of arts degree in sociology and a bachelor's of science degree in family, youth and community sciences from Florida in 2006.