Jaz Smith - Track & Field, Cross Country Coach

Jaz Smith

Title:
Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps)
Email:
smit1164@miamioh.edu
Phone:
513-529-3489

Jaz Smith joined the Miami coaching staff in September 2025 as an assistant coach with a focus on the RedHawks’ sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers.

In 2025-26, the Miami men finished as runner-up at the MAC cross country meet and took fourth at the MAC outdoor track and field championships. The Miami women placed fifth in cross country, 11th in indoor and sixth in outdoor. Mia Boule turned in a record-breaking season for the Red and White, claiming the indoor and outdoor MAC pole vault championships and shattering the school record along the way. Nate Hollingsworth took gold in high jump (outdoor) and Ella Garvin won bronze in high jump at both the indoor and outdoor championships. Six RedHawks advanced to the NCAA East First Round to wrap up a year that included 14 All-MAC selections, 12 Academic All-District honorees and 28+ Academic All-MAC awards between the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons.

Smith came to Miami after serving as an intern and assistant coach with the Hanover College track and field program since August 2024. She assisted the Panthers with recruiting, scheduling and preparation and helped initiate changes to improve the quality of Hanover’s program.

From 2022-2024, Smith served as a social media manager with Northern Illinois University’s athletics department. She also helped as a volunteer coach for the Huskies’ track and field teams from 2023-2024, assisting with setting up markings and taking down times for student-athlete workouts. Smith filled in before and after events when coaches were unavailable and traveled with NIU Track and Field to shadow the Huskies’ coaches at championship meets.

Smith was previously an award-winning student-athlete at Northern Illinois, winning the MAC long jump title in 2021 en route to earning First Team All-Conference honors. She was also named Second-Team All-MAC in both indoor track and field and outdoor track and field during her career and was recognized as Academic All-MAC in 2024. Smith set the indoor (6.13m) and outdoor (6.15m) long jump record at NIU.

Smith graduated from Northern Illinois in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and completed her Master’s of Sports Management at NIU in May 2025.