Former California men's rower and volunteer assistant coach Jack Smith will rejoin the Golden Bears' coaching staff as an assistant coach, head coach Scott Frandsen announced this week. Smith, who rowed at Cal from 2016-20 and was a volunteer assistant coach from 2021-23, returns to Berkeley after spending the last three years at Dartmouth with its men's heavyweight rowing program.
 
"We are thrilled to have Jack join the coaching staff," Frandsen said. "Jack is an incredibly hard worker and he brings infectious, positive energy to everything that he does. He was an outstanding student-athlete during his time at Cal, and he has spent the past six years developing as a coach and recruiter. I'm excited to see what can bring to our team."
 
During his first stint at Cal as a volunteer assistant coach, Smith helped the Bears win back-to-back IRA National Championships in 2022 and 2023, in addition to the Pac-12 conference title in each of those years. Smith also helped instruct the team's varsity four to the 2023 national title and a pair of consecutive conference titles in 2022 and 2023.
 
Off the water, Smith also worked with the philanthropic arm of Cal men's rowing as the fundraising and financial director of the Friends of California Crew. In his time with the organization, he helped raise funds for the general program budget and facilitated the creation of two new scholarships. Smith was also heavily involved in all aspects of the team's operation, including practices, competitions and coordinating travel. He organized the Ky Ebright Invitational regatta in 2022 and 2023, a hugely successful two-time, five-team regatta out of the T. Gary Rogers Rowing Center.
 
As a student-athlete at Cal, Smith was a part of three consecutive top-four team-point finishes at the IRA National Championships from 2016-19 (the 2020 IRA National Championship was not contested due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
 
"I couldn't be more excited to be back in Berkeley," Smith said. "I owe so much to this program, and to the University, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to repay those debts. Scott and Brandon Shald both played major roles in my development as a rower and as a person, and I'm lucky to work alongside them."
 
Smith spent three seasons at Dartmouth from 2023-26, capping his time with the Big Green by helping the program record its best finish in the team standings since 2022 at the IRA National Championship this past season. The Big Green's varsity eight finished fifth in the grand final to help the program take sixth in the national team standings and was third-best in a competitive Ivy League in 2026. Other highlights of Smith's time at Dartmouth included coaching crews to a pair of gold medals at the Head of the Charles regatta in 2023 and 2024 and a silver medal at the event in 2025. He also helped guide crews to five medals at the Eastern Association of Rowing Coaches (EARC) Sprints regattas and coached the Big Green's varsity four to a silver medal at the 2024 IRA National Championship.
 
Smith originally hails from Newton, Massachusetts and he attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. He began his coaching prowess as an assistant coach within different programs at Community Rowing Inc. in Brighton, Massachusetts, while completing his degree at Cal. Smith graduated from the University with a bachelor's degree in global studies in 2020.
 
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