As the 2026 WNBA season approaches, the Phoenix Mercury have added a former franchise icon and Iowa women’s basketball legend, Tangela Smith, to their coaching staff as an assistant coach.
As many Hawkeyes fans recall, Smith was a standout for the Hawkeyes from 1994-98 at what is now essentially the power forward position, posting a career average of 13.5 points per game on 51.0% shooting. Smith also averaged 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game across 118 games.
Through her stellar play, she guided the Hawkeyes to a pair of Big Ten Conference regular-season championships (1996 and 1998) and a Big Ten Tournament title in 1997. Smith also earned 1997 All-Big Ten honorable mention status, first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1996 and 1998, 1998 Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mention, and won the Big Ten Player of the Year award in 1998.
Smith is a 2019 inductee into the National Iowa Varsity Club Hall of Fame.
Smith, a 15-year WNBA veteran, played 463 career regular-season games and averaged 10.9 points per game on 42.3% shooting, along with 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per contest. In her 10 years of WNBA Playoffs appearances, she finished with an average of 11.0 points per game on 42.9% shooting, to accompany 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks per contest. Smith also helped guide the Mercury to championships in 2007 and 2009 during her four seasons spent in the Valley of the Sun from 2007-09.
After retiring in 2012, she began her coaching career with the Western Michigan Broncos as an assistant coach from 2014-18 before spending the past four seasons of her eight-year tenure with the Northwestern Wildcats women’s basketball program as an associate head coach.
Smith will make her assistant coaching debut with the Mercury on Saturday, May 9, when they open the 2026 season in a 2025 WNBA Finals rematch against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Phoenix Mercury add Iowa women’s basketball legend to coaching staff
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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