Tangela Smith joined the Bronco coaching staff in September 2014, following a 15-year career in the WNBA, where she won two championships with the Phoenix Mercury and earned all-star status while playing for the Charlotte Sting.
Smith enters her fifth season with the Western Michigan staff during the 2018-19 campaign as primary roles are in recruiting, game planning, post player development and team travel.Â
In the 2017-18 season, Smith continued to work with primarily the post players and junior standout Breanna Mobley who was named to the All-MAC Honorable Mention Team. The forward led the Broncos to the MAC semifinals after WMU upset Ball State in the quarterfinals. Mobley averaged 16.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg all while shooting 55.6 percent from the field in 33 games.
With the guidance of Smith during the 2016-17 season, Mobley was named to the All-MAC Third Team and All-MAC Tournament Team. Mobley set a single season WMU record with 307 rebounds. Mobley started in all 31 games she appeared in averaging 14.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 blocks per game for the Broncos. Mobley also tied for the MAC lead and finished tied for ninth in the nation in offensive rebounding (4.4). Redshirt junior Marley Hill was one of three Broncos to start in all 32 games averaging 13.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while leading the team with 34 blocks. Hill scored in double-figures in 25 games including the first 18 games.
Smith worked with Mobley during 2015-16 season, coaching her to earn the Team's Most Improved Player Award. Mobley improved to score 14.9 points per game and grab 11.6 rebounds a game over the last nine games of the season, including six double-doubles.Â
Smith is fourth all-time in the WNBA for career games played, appearing in 463 games. Over the 15 seasons, she averaged 10.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steal per game. She was at one time ranked top-11 in both career scoring with 5,048 points and rebounding with 2,335.
A former Iowa All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs as the 12th overall pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft. She went on to play for the Monarchs, Charlotte Sting, Phoenix Mercury, Indiana Fever and San Antonio Stars. She helped the Mercury win WNBA titles in 2007 & 2009, averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg during the first championship season and 9.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg during the second run. She was an was an all-star for Charlotte in 2006, prompting the Mercury to trade their No. 1 draft pick, Lindsey Harding (Duke), to acquire Smith.
Smith is a Chicago, Ill., native and graduated from Iowa with a degree in sports, health, leisure and physical studies and a minor in business administration in 1998. While at Iowa, she was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mention as a senior. She helped lead the Hawkeyes to Big Ten regular season titles in 1996 and 1998 along with a Big Ten Tournament championship in 1997. She currently ranks second in school history in blocks (235), fifth in rebounding (859) and eighth in scoringÂ
