Shaka Smart coaching career: Which teams did the Marquette head tactician coach before the Golden Eagles?

The Marquette Golden Eagles have gone all the way to the Big East title game after a stellar season. Despite them not coming out with a conference championship, they're basically locks to make March Madness as a potential 2-seed. This is mainly due to the efforts of head coach Shaka Smart.

The man at the helm of the Golden Eagles was hired in 2021 and is quickly becoming one of the finest younger coaches in NCAA Division 1 hoops. Here's a quick look at his resume leading up to his arrival in Milwaukee.

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Which teams did Shaka Smart coach?

Shaka Smart`s coaching career began in 1999 when he was an assistant coach for the California PA Vulcans. He stayed there until 2001, and would continue being an assistant coach for these schools:

• Akron (2003-2006)
• Clemson (2006-2008)
• Florida (2008-2009)

After his time in Gainesville, Smart will get his first-ever coaching job for VCU, where he stayed from 2009 to 2015. Then he moved to Texas from 2015 to 2021, eventually finding his way to Marquette.

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Shaka Smart's coaching history and records

One might not recognize it, but Shaka Smart's success is impressive, despite having much head coaching experience as his more tenured peers.

In seven total seasons with VCU, he led the Rams to the NCAA tournament in all but one season. He even led the team to the 2011 Final Four, in only his third year at the helm at that point. His overall record for the VCU Rams is 163-56 for a .744 winning percentage. He never had a losing season for the Rams, as clearly indicated here.

Next up, he led the Texas Longhorns to three total NCAA Tournament appearances (2016, 2018, 2021) and compiled a 109–86 (.559 winning percentage) win-loss record. Shaka Smart only had one losing season for the Longhorns in 2016-2017 when the team went 11-22 overall and completely missed the Big Dance.

Once he got to Marquette, Smart's success continued despite a relatively slow start in his inaugural year at the helm of the Golden Eagles.

He`s never missed March Madness as head coach for the team, and his current standing means he's making his third straight postseason appearance. So far, he`s compiled a 73–28 (.723) record for the school, with zero losing seasons once more.