The active NAIA women's basketball wins leader and NAIA Hall of Fame Inductee (Class of 2011), Robin Hagen-Smith enters her 30th season on the sidelines as the women's basketball head coach in the 2012-13 season. Since Shawnee State transitioned into the NAIA in 1988, Hagen-Smith has compiled a career record of 618-152, an .803 winning percentage. Coming into this season, that mark is 95 more wins than the second coach on the list. Only three active coaches in NAIA history have achieved the 500 win plateau heading into this season. Her monumental 600th victory came on December 10, 2011 against No. 11 Olivet Nazarene. For her career accomplishments, she was inducted into Shawnee State's inaugural Hall of Fame Class in 2000.
Prior to Shawnee State joining the NAIA, Hagen-Smith led the institution to a 76-52 record at the NJCAA level. Combining her junior college and NAIA coaching records, she has a collegiate record of 694-204. During the 1998-99 season, Hagen-Smith led her squad to the ultimate achievement when her squad won the NAIA Championship. Her team nearly repeated that feat again during the 2009-10 season when it again advanced to the NAIA Championship, finishing as the runner-up at the national tournament. Her teams have made 17 of the last 19 NAIA tournaments.
Since the start of the 2010-11 school year, Shawnee State has been competing in the Mid-South Conference and has become an NAIA Division I school with the change in conference. Her squads have not missed a beat since, advancing to the Fab Four in their first season and moving into the Round of 16 a season ago. In her postseason career, she has led the Bears to 13 Sweet Sixteens, six Elite Eights and four Fab Fours to go along with the national championship and runner-up teams. She is 26-16 in the NAIA tournament history and has coached a total of 21 All-Americans with 10 earning first-team All-America accolades.
Among her numerous coaching awards, Hagen-Smith has been a seven-time Coach of the Year recipient at the conference level ranging from MOC, AMC and MSC honors. She was also the 1997-1998 WBCA IKON Coach of the Year, 1998-1999 NAIA National Coach of the Year, 1998-1999 Dispatch Women's Ohio College Basketball Coach of the Year, and 2007-2008 NAIA Region IX Coach of Character Award Winner.
Hagen-Smith's basketball success at Shawnee State began in 1979 when she played for Shawnee State Community College before transferring in 1981 to the University of Rio Grande. She finished her playing career in 1983. In addition to her Shawnee State and NAIA Hall of Fame inductions, she also belongs to the Rio Grande Athletic Hall of Fame (Class of 1989), the South Webster (Ohio) Hall of Fame (Class of 1998) and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame (Class of 2010).
Hagen-Smith received her bachelor's degree in Physical Education/Health from Rio Grande in 1983. In 1984, she received her master's degree in Education from Xavier University. She is a full-time faculty member at Shawnee State. She and her husband, Gregg, who is an assistant on the women's basketball team, reside in Portsmouth. They have two daughters, Ali and Aleza.
A 2007 inductee into the Shawnee State Hall of Fame, Gregg Smith enters his 27th season as the women's basketball assistant coach at Shawnee State. During his tenure, he has been a part of all 618 victories that the Bears have accumulated since joining the NAIA.
During the 1998-99 season, Smith helped lead the Bears to the ultimate achievement as they won the NAIA Championship. Shawnee State nearly repeated that feat again during the 2009-10 season when it again advanced to the NAIA Championship, finishing as the runner-up at the national tournament. The Bears have made 17 of the last 19 NAIA tournaments
Smith and his wife, head coach Robin Hagen-Smith, reside in Portsmouth with their family. The couple have two daughters, Ali and Aleza.
Jeff Nickel enters his fourth season on the bench with the Bears for the 2012-13 season. In addition to four years as an assistant coach, he also served as interim head coach for six games. He compiled a record of 5-1 during that time. In his first three years as an assistant coach, the Bears have advanced to the NAIA Division II championship game in 2009-10. In the 2010-11 season, Shawnee State moved to the Mid-South Conference and NAIA Division I and went back to the Fab Four in that season. This past year, the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16. His responsibilities with the team include recruiting, scouting, walk through and Individual workouts.
Prior to Shawnee State, Nickel spent one season as head coach of his alma mater at Greenup County High School (Ky.). Nickel went 17-10 in his only season and amassed the best regular season in 11 years at GCHS. He also spent two seasons as the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Portsmouth High School. While at Portsmouth, he helped develop the Portsmouth Girls Youth Basketball League. Nickel has also spent four seasons as an assistant to KHSAA Ring of Honor Coach Randy Ward at Portsmouth Clay High School. Together they compiled a league championship, three sectional titles and two district finals appearances.
Coach Nickel began his basketball career at Greenup County High School under Coach Randy Ward. While at GCHS he was a member of three 63rd district championships, two 16th Region semifinal teams and one 16th Region runner-up team. He graduated from GCHS in 2000. The following year he started his coaching career at 18 years old at McKell Middle School in South Shore, Kentucky.
Nickel received his bachelor's degree from Shawnee State University in 2005 and holds a Grade 7-12 Integrated Social Studies Teaching license. In 2011, he received his master's degree in Athletic Administration/Coaching from Concordia University-Irvine, California. Jeff resides in South Shore, Kentucky.
