Years In Coaching: 29th
Years at USF: 2nd
Alma Mater: Bachelor’s degree in business, Belhaven College (1993)
Hometown: Winona, Miss.
Family: Wife: Paula; Daughter: Chiya
NOTABLE:
• Helped lead USF to its first-ever regular season conference championship
• Helped guide the Bulls to a program-best 25 wins
• Helped lead South Florida to its first-ever top-25 ranking in program history, reaching as high as No. 24
• Helped lead Kennesaw State to a 26-9 record, conference regular season and tournament titles and the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• Has coached eight players that have gone on to the NBA
• Helped lead the Iowa State to three NCAA tournament appearances, two Big 12 Tournament titles, 97 wins in six seasons.
• Helped lead Murray State to a 104-29 record and three postseason berths in four seasons.
William Small is entering his second season as an assistant coach at the University of South Florida.
In his first season with USF, the Bulls saw an incredible transformation, with a focus on competitive excellence, community engagement, and the development of a strong team culture. The Bulls compiled a 25-8 record and won their first regular-season conference championship. They were also ranked in the top 25 for the first time in program history.
Small followed Abdur-Rahim from Kennesaw State, where he spent two seasons on the Owls’ staff (2021-23) and helped lead the program to 26 wins and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23.
He brings more than 25 years of college coaching experience to USF and has coached eight NBA Draft picks from a career that has spanned stops at Iowa State, Murray State, UTEP, Southeastern Louisiana, Georgia State, Tulane, Troy, UT-Martin, Alabama-Huntsville, and Cowley Community College since starting in 1995.
At Kennesaw State (2021-23), Small helped lead one of the nation’s most stunning turnarounds as the Owls posted a school-record 26-9 mark, ASUN Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the program’s first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament berth in 2022-23. It marked KSU’s first winning record as an NCAA Division I program and its first ASUN conference titles. The Owls were picked to finish eighth in the ASUN but posted a 15-3 conference record. KSU's 15 league wins were five more than the program’s previous record of 10, while the Owls tied for fourth in the nation with 10 road wins (10-6), four more than the 2016-17 team's program-record road mark of 6-13.
The Owls went on to post three wins in the conference tournament, downing Liberty (67-66) in the final to earn the tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament, the program’s first-ever. KSU scored 75.0 points per game and shot 46.1 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three to nearly double the program’s previous high wins mark in Division I. The 14th-seeded Owls took No. 3-seed Xavier to the limit in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, nearly pulling off the first-round upset in what was a one-point game in the final seconds before eventually falling 72-67.
Star guard Chris Youngblood was named a first-team All-Conference and All-District selection and became the first KSU player to be named Georgia Men’s Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Meanwhile, guard Terrell Burden earned second-team All-Conference and All-District honors, marking the first time in program history the Owls received district accolades of any kind. Further, Brandon Stroud was named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year.
Prior to his stint at KSU, Small spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa State (2015-21) where he helped lead the Cyclones to three NCAA tournament appearances, two Big 12 Tournament titles, 97 wins and a trio of upper-half finishes in the Big 12 Conference, including a second-place finish in 2016-17.
The Cyclones finished ninth nationally in adjusted offense in 2019, marking the third time in Small's time at ISU in which the Cyclones ranked among the nation's top-15 on the offensive end of the floor.
The 2019-20 team had a pair of players earn All-Big 12 honors including Bob Cousy Award finalist Tyrese Haliburton.
Iowa State went 23-12 in 2018-19, making the NCAA Tournament and winning the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones had four players recognized by the Big 12 Conference on its all-league teams, led by All-American and Julius Erving Award finalist Marial Shayok.
The 2016-17 Cyclone team finished No. 16 in the AP poll and ranked high on its offensive statistics, finishing No. 11 nationally in both adjusted offensive efficiency three-pointers made (344).
Prior to Iowa State, Small coached for four seasons at Murray State (2011-15) where he helped the Racers to a 104-29 record and three postseason berths.
Small and MSU made a splash in his first season as the Racers were ranked as high as No. 10, including spending 13 weeks in the polls. MSU finished 31-2, including a 23-0 start which made them the nation's last undefeated team. The 31 wins were an Ohio Valley Conference record, and the Racers were the nation's only team to go undefeated in road games (13-0).
Murray State won at least 20 games in each of his four seasons as an assistant coach, which included posting a 29-6 mark and berth in the NIT quarterfinals in 2014-15. The Racers finished the OVC portion of their schedule a perfect 16-0.
Small spent one season as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky (2004-05), when the Hilltoppers finished 22-9 and made the NIT.
Small played college basketball at Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss., where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business in 1993.
A native of Winona, Miss., he and his wife, Paula, have a daughter, Chiya. He also has a daughter ShaKima Nicholson, a son Ray Knight and grandson Roman Knight.
COACHING HISTORY
2023-present South Florida (Assistant Coach)
2021-23 Kennesaw State (Assistant Coach)
2015-21 Iowa State (Assistant Coach)
2011-15 Murray State (Assistant Coach)
2004-05 Western Kentucky (Assistant Coach)
