Jamie Smith (born 25 December 1997) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

side

Crown Legacy FC Crown Legacy FC is an American soccer team that is located in Matthews, North Carolina. It is the reserve team of Charlotte FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On March 31, 2022, Charlotte FC announced it would field an MLS Next Pro ...

Career

Early career

Smith attended St Francis of Assisi Catholic College, and joined the

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

academy at the age of 12, playing for the Walsall youth team as a two-year scholar, before being released by the club in 2016. He subsequently signed with

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

, making a single league appearance before joining Ryman League Premier Division club

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

on loan.

College

In 2017, Smith moved to the United States to play

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Limestone University Limestone University, formerly Limestone College, was a private university, private Christian university in Gaffney, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1845 by Thomas Curtis, a scholar born and educated in England, Limestone was the f ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Here he played two seasons for the Saints, making 37 appearances, scoring five goals and tallying two assists. While at Limestone, Smith was awarded multiple accolades including 2018 Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team, Second-Team All-Conference Carolinas, Second-Team D2CCA All-Southeast Regio, and First-Team All-Conference Carolinas. Smith transferred to

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

in 2019, going on to make 46 appearances with the Wolfpack, scoring five goals, and was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll on consecutive seasons. While at college, Smith played for amateur side

Asheville City SC Asheville City SC is an American amateur soccer team based in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 2016, the men's team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The women's team was founded in 2017 and played in ...

, appearing for the club in the NPSL during their 2018 and 2019 seasons, making 21 appearances and scoring a three goals across both seasons. He didn't appear for the team in 2020 due to the season being cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He continued with Asheville as they moved to play in the

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, making twelve regular season appearances.

Greenville Triumph

On 16 March 2022, Smith signed with

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

Greenville Triumph Greenville Triumph SC is a professional soccer team based in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The club began play in USL League One in 2019. History The formation of USL D3 was first announced in April 2017, and league officials bega ...

after a month-long trial. He made his debut for the team on 2 April 2022, starting in a 2–0 loss to Central Valley Fuego. Smith was released by Greenville following their 2024 season.

Personal life

Smith is the son of

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

, who was a former professional footballer and now head coach of

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jamie 1997 births Living people Men's association football defenders Crown Legacy FC players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Greenville Triumph SC players Hendon F.C. players Isthmian League players Limestone Saints men's soccer players National League (English football) players National Premier Soccer League players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players Sutton United F.C. players USL League One players USL League Two players Walsall F.C. players Asheville City SC players Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands 21st-century English sportsmen