( KRON ) — New Stanford men’s
basketball coach Kyle Smith sees the school as his dream
Job — not just for what could happen on the court, but also for how the university can help his family. At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Smith was moved to tears when talking about how Stanford can help his son, Bo. Bo, now 13, was diagnosed with autism in 2017, and raising him entails specific challenges, as detailed in a 2020 piece about Smith published in the Athletic. Smith shared on Wednesday that when he was talking to Stanford about potentially taking the job, school officials put him in touch with Antonio Cardan, who works with the Stanford Autism Center. “To have that opportunity for our family, my son to have maybe more resources… just honored, thankful,” Smith said (below) while fighting back tears. “You’ll all get to know Bo soon enough.” Bo’s caregiver will move down to the Peninsula to accompany the Smith family as Kyle embarks on his new job. “There’s no better resources here than at Stanford Autism Center and the outreach to try to help that makes me feel really good,” he told KRON4. Smith comes to Stanford after coaching the Cardinal’s former conference rival,
Washington State, to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2023-24. The Cougars finished second in the Pac-12 and won their first game in March Madness. Smith has ties to the Bay Area, having been an assistant coach at St. Mary’s from 2001-2010 and the head coach of San Francisco from 2016-2019. His first head coaching job was at Columbia in 2010, and he has steadily climbed the college basketball ranks since. Stanford hired Smith after firing its previous coach Jerod Haase at the conclusion of its season. Haase coached the Cardinal for eight seasons and did not make an NCAA Tournament. Smith will be at the helm when Stanford plays its first season in the ACC next year.