Baldwin County Schools hires former pro, Middle Georgia native as boys basketball coach

The Baldwin County Board of Education has appointed Dublin native and former professional basketball player Ben Smith as the new coach of Baldwin High School’s varsity boys basketball team.

Student athletes and parents had their first opportunity to get to know Smith at a meet and greet May 4 in the James A. Lunsford Gymnasium at Baldwin High School.

Before he became a coach, Smith spent over a decade as a player on high school, college, and professional basketball teams.

Smith began his basketball career as a point guard at Dublin, where he led his school to its first Georgia State Basketball Championship in 2006. For his efforts he was named AA Georgia State Boys Player of the Year.

After finishing high school, Smith continued his journey as a student athlete at Jacksonville University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Administration and as the all-time leader in assists, steals, minutes played, and free-throws made on the basketball court. Later, in 2016, Jacksonville University inducted Smith into their Hall of Fame.

Smith went on to play basketball professionally overseas in Greece, Sweden, England, China, Iceland, and France for seven years before returning to Georgia to coach the Dublin Fighting Irish varsity boys basketball team at Dublin High School.

For two years in a row under Smith’s leadership, the Fighting Irish won the regional championship with no losses. In the 2020-21 season, the team went 27-2, losing by just one point in the state playoff semifinals. In the 2021-22 season, the team continued their trajectory and went 28-2.

In his last year at Dublin in 2022-23, Smith saw his team to the second round of the GHSA Class A Division I and his team ended the season with a 20-8 record.

Smith will now guide Baldwin High School’s boys basketball team in their season this winter, and according to a press release from the county’s education board, “with Smith at the helm, Baldwin County is certain to achieve great things.”