Skip to content
College

Dallas Smith Becomes First Wrestler in Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame

By · 3 min read

Dallas Smith, a Neosho, Mo., native, has spent the last decade coaching wrestlers in Missouri. Now his alma mater has made sure his own career is never forgotten.

The Webb City head coach was inducted into the Ouachita Baptist University Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Nov. 6, becoming the first wrestler in school history to receive the honor. The ceremony was held at the Walker Conference Center on the Ouachita campus in Arkadelphia, Ark., and the 2026 class was recognized again at halftime of the Tigers’ football game against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Nov. 7.

Smith was one of nine inductees in a class spanning eight sports and six decades of Tiger athletics.

From Neosho to Arkadelphia

Smith’s path started at Neosho High School, where he climbed the Missouri state podium every year he was there. He placed fourth at state as a sophomore and third as a junior, then won the 189-pound state championship as a senior in 2011.

He was ranked No. 16 nationally at 189 pounds by InterMat when Ouachita head coach Kevin Ward signed him to a National Letter of Intent that spring. Ward said at the time he expected Smith to make an immediate impact on the Tigers.

Four trips to the podium

Smith arrived at Ouachita when the wrestling program was still brand new, and he wasted little time putting it on the map.

In 2011-12, just the program’s second season of existence, Smith finished sixth at nationals at 184 pounds. He climbed to national runner-up in 2013, then placed third in 2014.

His senior season in 2015 finished the job. Smith won the NCAA Division II national championship at 184 pounds with a 4-3 decision over Maryville’s Nick Burghardt in the finals, capping a career with four All-America finishes and a title.

That combination of a national champion and four-time All-American from a program that started from scratch is what made him the choice to open the door for wrestling in Ouachita’s Hall of Fame.

From graduate assistant to head coach

Smith went straight into coaching. He served as a graduate assistant at Ouachita in the fall of 2015, then moved to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., as a graduate assistant in the spring of 2016. He earned his MAT from Lindenwood in 2018, after graduating from Ouachita with a bachelor’s degree in pre-professional kinesiology.

He stayed on the Lindenwood staff and was part of the most successful stretch in the program’s history:

  • 2016-17: The Lions finished third in the MIAA regular season and at the conference tournament, with MIAA titles from Hunter Haralson and David Hamil.
  • 2017-18: Lindenwood sent three wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships, including future All-American Carlos Jacquez.
  • 2018-19: The Lions placed seventh at the NCAA Division II Championships in Cleveland, sending seven qualifiers. Jacquez won the national title at 125 pounds to finish a perfect 30-0 season.
  • 2019-20: Lindenwood went 9-4, spent 17 weeks in the top 10 and entered nationals ranked seventh with seven qualifiers before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
  • 2020-21: The Lions finished third at the NCAA Division II Championships in St. Louis, with all five qualifiers earning All-America honors. Abner Romero won the 174-pound title to finish 12-0, and Lindenwood won its first GLVC championship.

Over that stretch, Smith helped coach three NCAA Division II national champions (Terrel Wilbourn, Carlos Jacquez and Abner Romero) and 15 All-Americans out of 27 national qualifiers. The Lions posted three top-three finishes at regionals and two top-10 finishes at nationals.

Lindenwood promoted Smith to head coach in the fall of 2021 after Jimmy Rollins stepped down in late September. “I feel honored to have the opportunity to lead such a storied program,” Smith said at the time. His first team went 6-5 in duals, placed third at the inaugural GLVC Dual Championships and finished 34th at nationals, where Colby Smith placed sixth at 141 pounds.

In 2022-23, Smith led Lindenwood into its first season of NCAA Division I competition. The Lions faced four top-25 teams, Gavin Londoff won the Lindenwood Open, and Kalen Napier knocked off the No. 4 ranked wrestler at 141 pounds.

Back to the high school room

Lindenwood discontinued its wrestling program in 2024. Smith headed back home to southwest Missouri and took over as head coach at Webb City High School.

Webb City wrestlers now have a coach who has done it at every level: a national champion on the mat, an assistant on national-trophy teams, and a head coach who took a program into Division I.

The 2026 Ouachita Hall of Fame class

Smith was inducted alongside:

  • TJ Bingham, football (1998-2001)
  • Bobby Cheatwood, baseball (1968-1971)
  • Greg Freeman, swimming and diving (1985-1989)
  • Rogers Gaines, track and field (1987-1990)
  • Haley Hatcher Weaver, women’s soccer (2013-2015)
  • Lynn (Sooter) Hickey, women’s basketball (1969-1973)
  • Tom Jones, track and field and basketball (1968-1971), inducted posthumously
  • Steve Smith, baseball (2005-2008)