Chattanooga Mocs goalkeeper Malachi Smith, Southern Conference Player of the Year, enters the basketball transfer gate

Chattanooga goalkeeper Malachi SmithThis year’s Southern Conference player entered the college basketball transfer gate Wednesday morning.

Smith immediately became one of the best players available in the portal.

Smith was a 6-foot-4 guard from Illinois who was a key quarterback last season for the Mocs. He averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and fired 40.7% from a 3-point range. Some of his biggest matches came against the top competitors, as he scored 27 points and seven rebounds against Belmont and then scored 36 points in the loss to Murray State three days later. He also had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the SoCon semi-final against Wofford.

Smith earned a consensus honors SoCon Player of the Year award.

During the 2020-21 season, Smith was a first-team selection from the All-SoCon after becoming the first Chattanooga player to lead the program in points, rebounds and assists in the same season. He averaged 16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists that season and made 38.3% of his 3-point attempts.

Smith began his career at Wright State, spending one season before moving and sitting at Chattanooga.

Last season, he helped lead the Mocs to the NCAA Championship, where they fell in the last seconds to Illinois in the first round. Coach Lamont left Paris days later to become the head coach of South Carolina, replacing Frank Martin.