United States Olympic Gold Medalist Julie Smith enters her tenth season as head coach of the University of La Verne softball program. She also serves as the athletic department's Senior Woman Administrator and Assistant Athletics Director for Development.

In 2018, Smith led the Leopards to their third straight SCIAC Regular Season Title with a 21-7 conference record. Smith and her staff also earned SCIAC Coaching staff of the year honors, Jiana Rojo was named SCIAC Newcomer of the year, and two Leopards earned First Team All-SCIAC honors.

The 2017 La Verne softball squad earned back-to-back SCIAC Regular Season titles and capped off SCIAC play with a dramatic walk-off win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to win the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship and a spot at NCAA Regionals. The Leopards finished SCIAC play with a 20-8 mark and boasted four First-Team All-SCAC players including SCIAC Player of the Year Alexis Schiff.

In 2016, Smith guided the Leopards to their first SCIAC championship since 2004 with a 25-3 conference record and led the Leopards to SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The stellar season saw Smith named the 2016 Coach of the Year and several of her players garnered First Team All-SCIAC recognition headlined by Katherine Kibbe '14 winning the SCIAC Athlete of the Year Award.

Under Smith's leadership, the Leopards made an appearance in eight of the first ten SCIAC Postseason Tournaments.

The Leopards captured the inaugural SCIAC Tournament Championship in 2008 as the No. 4 seed to earn a spot in the NCAA West Regionals. La Verne finished the season winning 12 of its final 15 games en route to a 28-19 overall mark. Six players earned All-SCIAC honors in 2008. The Leopards also led Division III in double plays per game.

Smith's 2009 squad reached both the SCIAC and NCAA Tournaments for the second consecutive year. Among the victories during the '09 campaign included wins over Division III nationally-ranked teams Linfield and Wis.-Eau Claire along with NAIA power Point Loma Nazarene. Under Smith, seven players earned All-SCIAC honors including Player of the Year Melissa Carlson, who also was named NFCA Second Team All-America.

Smith led La Verne to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010 after the Leopards captured the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship. La Verne seeded third heading into the conference tourney, won four straight games to capture its second SCIAC Tournament crown in three seasons. 

In 2015, the Leopards came within one game of capturing the SCIAC Championship after going 18-10 and made the SCIAC Postseason Tournament once again.

During her time at La Verne, Smith has mentored:

• 2 All-Americans
• 15 All-West Region selections
• 2 SCIAC Athletes of the Year
• 32 First Team All-SCIAC selections

The Leopards have excelled off the field as well. La Verne has placed a total of 27 student-athletes on the Academic All-SCIAC Softball Teams from 2013-2015 and has had a total of 14 student-athletes named NFCA Scholar-Athletes in Smith's tenure.

Smith has amassed 11 years of coaching experience from the club level to the professional ranks. She currently serves as president of Teamsmith, Inc., coaching three of its Amateur Softball Association (ASA) travel teams. She also spent the 2005 season as general manager and head coach of the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut franchise of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF).

A decorated softball player at the collegiate, national and international level, Smith was the starting second baseman on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the gold medal in Atlanta. She also was a member of two World Championship teams and three Pan American squads that earned gold medals.

Smith was a member of Texas A&M's 1987 NCAA national championship squad as a freshman. She also earned All-America honors that season before transferring to Fresno State. At Fresno State, she would go on to earn All-America honors in 1990 and 1991 while helping the Bulldogs to an NCAA second-place finish in '90. Smith was named Fresno State's Female Athlete of the Year in 1991 and earned a spot on the NCAA 25th Anniversary Team in 2006.

Smith won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics when the United States defeated China in the Gold medal match 3-1.

Smith is a member of two Halls of Fame. She was inducted into Charter Oak High School's Hall of Fame in 2010 and in November 2013, Smith was selected to Fresno State's Athletics Hall of Fame.

Smith is actively involved in the community and on the campus. She currently serves as the chair of the Administrative/Professional Committee and the softball team volunteers with the local Special Olympics teams.