Rice University Athletics
SEC Transfer Ashton Smith Joins Rice Soccer
1/20/2020 10:10:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Meet The Newest Owl
Smith, a midfielder originally from Johns Creek, Georgia, was freshman on the LSU soccer team last season. She did not appear in any matches for the Tigers and gained a redshirt season.
Coach Lee, who served ten seasons as the LSU head coach prior to taking the helm of the Rice soccer program in 2019, is very familiar with Smith's club and prep career. She is the second transfer from a soccer-power conference to join Rice and train under coach Lee after Mijke Roelfsema (originally in the ACC at Boston College) became an Owl last summer.
"I have known Ashton for years from coaching her as a youth player in Olympic Development through last spring at LSU and couldn't be any more excited about her joining us at Rice," coach Lee said. "Prior to her ACL injury, Ashton was arguably the best player on an SEC championship team at LSU after coming in as a January entry in 2019.
"Mijke set a great example for the type of player and person who will succeed as a transfer here and Ashton epitomizes a ton of the same traits - a top level player who is driven to succeed on and off the field, but remains humble, selfless, and a great teammate," coach Lee added. "The Rice environment will give her the opportunity to maximize her potential as a student and an athlete over the next four years and she will play a key role as we strive to climb our way to the top of C-USA and into national prominence."
Smith is a veteran club player both with Concorde Fire ECNL and Tophat Soccer the past four years. She served three seasons as the team captain at Chattahoochee High School where she was a three-time all-region honoree. Smith is an outstanding student who should make a smooth transition to the Rice curriculum after earning Chattahoochee's Outstanding Student Physics Award as well as the Academic Athletic Achievement Award. Résumé highlights include:
• Top 150 player list (TopDrawerSoccer.com)
• ODP Region Team (2013-2016)
• Costa Rica International Tournament in 2015 and 2016. Scored the winning goal/title win in 2015.
• US National Training Centers, 2012-2017
• ECNL Player Development Program Southeast Invite, 2016 and 2017
• ECNL All Conference Team, U18-U19
• Team Captain, Concorde Fire ECNL U14, U15, U17
• Two-year Chattahoochee High School Varsity Offensive Player of the Year
• Chattahoochee High School Varsity Coaches Award
• Chattahoochee High School Varsity Cougar Award (voted on by the players)
• Student Coach for the JV high school soccer team and Assistant Coach for the Junior Cougars cross country team
• AP Scholar Award
