Jarrod "The Professor" Smith

Jarrod Smith, also known as ‘The Professor’ by friends in the pickleball world, has been playing and instructing pickleball for almost a decade. As is the case for most, the sport has brought a new passion, thirst for knowledge, and an amazing social circle into his life.  He has had the pleasure of playing professionally and traveling the country instructing players of all levels.  The culmination of his play was a Men’s Doubles National Title as well as a Mixed Doubles National Title, both in 2021.

In November of 2023, Jarrod was named the Head Pickleball Coach at Drury University.  While many clubs teams were already paving the way for college pickleball, this was the first program to be an officially recognized sport at a University and the first to offer the combination of a full-time coaching staff, operational budgets, and scholarship opportunities.  The Panther Pad was built on campus by the generous gift of Austin O’Reilly and the O’Reilly family to house the team and boasted 6 pickleball courts, a tennis court, and a basketball court.

Jarrod’s love of the sport really centers around the desire to help others on their journeys to reach their goals on the court.  While everyone’s ambitions are different, his objective is to create an environment in which each person can thrive.  There are many ways to learn and improve, and the hope is that individuals will take advantage of as many opportunities as are provided.

Previous to his tenure as the Drury Pickleball Coach, Smith led the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Drury.  During his time at the helm of the Panthers, Jarrod has accumulated a combined record of 523-138 (.791) which put him in the top five current coaches in NCAA Division II winning percentage and top fifteen in history.