Elon University Athletics

Charlotte Smith – the winningest head women's basketball coach in program history and former University of North Carolina women’s basketball standout who hit the game winning shot in the 1994 national championship game – will be entering her 14th season at the helm of the Elon University women’s basketball program in 2024-25.

Smith was tabbed the sixth coach in program history by Elon Director of Athletics Dave Blank on June 11, 2011. In 11 years guiding the Phoenix, she has accumulated a 206-184 record.

Last season, Smith led the team to an 11-21 overall record and 7-11 conference record, highlighted by a 9-8 road record, the best since 2017. The Phoenix earned the No. 9 seed in the CAA Championship and advanced to the second round for the fifth consecutive year. The team achieved an All-Rookie Team selection in Maraja Pass for the second straight year. 

In the 2022-23 season, Smith led the Phoenix to a 9-21 overall record and 5-13 in conference play. Elon finished eleventh in the regular season, entering the CAA Championship seeded No. 11. This was the fourth consecutive year the Phoenix advanced to the second round of the CAA Championship. 

In the 2021-22 season, Smith became the program leader for all-time wins on Nov. 22, 2021 when the Phoenix defeated North Carolina A&T 76-66 for her 173rd win. She surpassed Brenda Paul (172-225), who was Elon's head coach from 1994-2008.

Smith guided the Phoenix to a 17-12 (9-9 CAA) record during the 2021-22 season, marking the first time the maroon and gold ended its regular season with a .500 or above conference record (9-9) since its 2017-18 campaign. Elon's road record (7-7) was also the best it has been since the 2017-18 season. Entering the CAA Championship as the four seed, the Phoenix fell to fifth-seeded Charleston in the quarterfinals. Senior Brie Perpignan was tabbed second team all-conference in addition to becoming the 25th member of the program's 1,000-point club.

During the Phoenix's 2020-21 campaign, Smith led the Phoenix to a 7-8 (3-5 CAA) record on the season, including wins against James Madison (77-55), Drexel (59-57) and Delaware (83-61). Elon entered the CAA Championship as the six seed, eventually falling to the three seed, Drexel, in the quarterfinals. For her performance in the classroom, senior Saadia Munford was named the 2020-21 CAA Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.      

In 2019-20, Smith guided the team to a 14-16 (8-10 CAA) record on the season. Entering the CAA Championship as the seventh seed, the Phoenix defeated Hofstra 71-51 in the opening round prior to the remainder of the championship and postseason being canceled.  

Following the 2017-18 season, Smith led the Phoenix to a 9-21 overall record and 4-14 record in conference play during the 2018-19 campaign. Elon finished eighth in the regular season, earning the No. 8 seed in the CAA Tournament. The Phoenix were defeated in the first round.   
 
In 2016-17, Smith saw her vision of a championship come to fruition with Elon capturing the CAA regular season and tournament titles, the first Division I championships for the program and first conference championships since winning the Conference Carolinas regular season crown in 1982. On the year, Elon set a new program Division I record for victories with a 27-7 mark to go with a 16-2 record in CAA action. The Phoenix earned the regular-season title with a commanding 82-48 triumph over UNCW on March 1 inside Alumni Gym before defeating all three of its CAA Tournament opponents by nearly 25 points per contest. The run was capped with a 78-60 defeat of James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. As a result, the Phoenix earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament, where it battled sixth-seeded West Virginia and ultimately fell in a back-and-forth game to the Mountaineers in College Park, Md. Throughout the year, Elon earned nine consecutive victories from Dec. 17, 2016, to Jan. 15, 2017, marking the most in a row as a Division I program and the most consecutive wins since 1983-84. It also set new program Division I records for highest attended games, seeing three crowds of more than 1,000 spectators pack Alumni Gym during conference play. At season’s end, Lauren Brown was named the CAA’s Dean Ehlers Leadership Award winner.
 
During the 2016-17 season, Smith also captured her 100th career win in a 75-65 victory over Drexel on Jan. 15. In hitting triple-digit win totals, Smith stands third in program history for most wins. With the outstanding season, Smith was named the CAA Coach of the Year, marking the first Elon Coach of the Year award in women's basketball since 1981. 

Following up the championship season, Elon touted the sixth-youngest roster in the nation in 2017-18 with three seniors, three sophomores and six freshmen. After going 8-3 in non-conference play, Elon struggled to a 4-4 start in CAA action before rattling off the program's Division I record with 13-straight victories from Jan. 28 to March 10 on the way to capturing its second CAA Tournament title in as many years to secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament. In winning the CAA Tournament, the Phoenix made conference history by becoming just the second time in tournament history not seeded No. 1 or No. 2 to win the title. The only other occasion a No. 3 seed on the CAA Tournament was in 1992. Shay Burnett was named a First Team All-CAA honoree for the third-straight season and the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after leading the program with 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Malaya Johnson was named a Second Team All-CAA performer with 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while Jada Graves was tabbed CAA Defensive Player of the Year with a spot on the All-Defensive Team. A key cog was the development of Ra'Shika White, a Second Team All-CAA performer and the league's Sixth Player of the Year. After averaging just 5.1 points per game with 3.5 rebounds per outing as a rookie in 2016-17, White took major steps with 12.6 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per contest as a sophomore in 2017-18 and played a big role for the program coming off the bench in 32 of its 33 games. During the year, Elon posted a perfect 13-0 record at home inside Alumni Gym to complete just the second perfect home slate in program history. 

In all, Elon posted a stellar 52-15 record across the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns with a 30-6 record in CAA action. Along the way, the Phoenix posted a gaudy 24-2 record in Alumni Gym, closing the building having won each of its final 18 games going back to January 2017.
 
Elon's stellar run to date was setup by a solid 2015-16 season in which the Phoenix went 18-13 and made a second-straight appearance in the WNIT. Overall, it was the team’s fourth postseason appearance at the time and the third in four seasons for Elon. The 2015-16 campaign was highlighted by the program’s first-ever win over Atlantic Coast Conference opponent North Carolina State, a 69-66 final in Raleigh, N.C. At season’s end, Burnett became the first Phoenix player to earn a spot on the All-CAA First Team. Burnett went on to repeat as a First Team All-CAA honoree in 2016-17.
 
In its inaugural season in the CAA in 2014-15, Smith led the Phoenix to a 19-13 overall record and an 11-7 conference record. The team tied for third during the regular season and earned the No. 4 seed in the CAA Tournament, where the Phoenix fell just four points shy of advancing to the title game. It marked the third straight trip to the conference tournament semifinals and while it fell short of the final, the Phoenix earned its first-ever bid to the WNIT.
 
The final season of Southern Conference play for Elon saw Smith guide the Phoenix to a 10-8 record in SoCon action with the team reaching the tournament semifinals for the second-straight season. Jenifer Rhodes was tabbed SoCon Freshman of the Year, the third SoCon Freshman of the Year honor for Phoenix players in six seasons.
 
In 2012-13, Elon posted a 19-14 record, including its best-ever Southern Conference mark of 14-6. The maroon and gold earned a program-best No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and reached the semifinals. Smith took the Phoenix to its second postseason appearance of the Division I era, taking part in the 2013 Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) and reaching the quarterfinals before falling to McNeese State. During the season, Elon held a 13-game home winning streak dating from Dec. 15, 2012, to March 23, 2013. The team also went on a six-game winning streak during January, finishing the month with a 6-1 record. Smith coached the Phoenix to a win over all 10 teams in the league, including conference champion Chattanooga. The loss marked the only SoCon defeat of the year for the Mocs. At season’s end, all five starters – Kelsey Evans, Ali Ford, Sam Coffer, Kelsey Harris and Zora Stephenson – were named to the 2012-13 Winter All-SoCon Academic team. Elon was the only program in the conference to have all five starters earn all-academic honors.
 
In Year No. 1 of the Smith era, Elon posted a 16-14 record. It stands as the most victories in a season by a first-year head coach in program history.
 
As an assistant at North Carolina for nine seasons before arriving at Elon, Smith helped the Tar Heels to a 157-54 record, including a 100-30 mark in ACC play. UNC won four conference titles during Smith’s stay in Chapel Hill, making seven appearances in the national Top 25. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament in all nine seasons she was on the bench with two trips to the Final Four, four Elite Eights and six Sweet 16s. From 2005-08, North Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in each edition of the Big Dance.
 
The most decorated player in North Carolina history, Smith was a four-year letter winner for the Tar Heels from 1991-95 and is one of only two UNC women’s basketball players to have had her jersey raised to the rafters inside Carmichael Arena. The 6-foot forward who wore No. 23 was named National Player of the Year by ESPN in 1995 following a career in which she scored 2,094 points (fifth all-time at UNC) and grabbed 1,200 rebounds (second all-time at UNC).
 
Smith is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1994 NCAA Championship game, when her buzzer-beating three-pointer gave North Carolina the national title with a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech. She also had a championship-record 23 rebounds in the contest and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
 
The ACC Rookie of the Year in 1992, Smith earned All-ACC and ACC Tournament MVP honors in her junior and senior seasons as the Tar Heels claimed back-to-back conference titles. As a senior, she was named an All-American by Kodak, the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. In 2002, she was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team as one of the top players in conference history. Smith was also honored as the 10th-best female athlete in the history of the league. Earlier in her senior season, she became just the second collegiate women’s player to dunk in a game when she did so against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 4, 1994.
 
Following her collegiate career, Smith played professional basketball in Italy, where she was MVP of the Italian All-Star Game for the 1995-96 season. In 1996, Smith was picked in the third round (17th overall) by the Colorado Xplosion in the initial American Basketball League draft. She spent 2 ½ seasons in the league, playing for Colorado and the San Jose Lasers and earning while earning All-Star honors.
 
Smith was then the 33rd pick of the 1999 WNBA draft by Charlotte and played six seasons for the Sting before moving to Washington in 2005 and to Indiana in 2006.
 
Smith made numerous international appearances for U.S. teams. She was the MVP of the 1996 USA Basketball Jones Cup squad, which won a gold medal. She also has played for the 1997 USA Basketball Women’s International Invitational team, the 1995 World University Games (coached by UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell), the 1994 US Select Team, the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival South team and the 1992 Junior World Championship Qualifying team.

Away from the college game, Smith has served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball in recent years. During the summer of 2016, Smith was an assistant coach for the Women's U18 National Team. In July, it won the gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile. In 2017, Smith was again selected to help lead the U19 World Cup Team with a coaching staff comprised of head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio (Pittsburgh head coach) and fellow assistant Kamie Ethridge (Northern Colorado head coach). In July, Smith and Team USA will head to Italy looking for another gold medal at the July 22-30 event. 
 
A native of Shelby, N.C., she graduated from Shelby High School, where she earned all-state honors and was her team’s MVP all four years. Smith completed her bachelor’s degree in sociology at North Carolina in 1999. In addition to playing professional basketball, she has interned in the Charlotte Sting offices and has worked in US Sports Management, Inc. In May 2015, Smith was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

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