Harford Community College Athletics

Over the past seven seasons, Mike Smelkinson has established himself as one of the premier coaches in Region 20 and Md Juco. After inheriting a Harford team with 5 wins in 2013-14, Smelkinson has lead Harford to four consecutive record-breaking seasons which includes two Md Juco regular season titles, two conference tournament championships, back-to-back Region XX titles, and a trip to Hutchinson, Kansas for the D1 NJCAA National Tournament. 

In his first season at the helm in 2014-15, the Fighting Owls won 14 of the final 17 games of the season on their way to claiming their first ever conference tournament championship. That historic season was followed-up in 2015-16 with a 21-win ball club who secured the Region 20 title, and clinched a berth to the school’s first ever national tournament appearance. In the 2016-17 season, Smelkinson steadily guided the program to a conference regular season title as well as a second Region 20 championship in the process of breaking the school’s single season win total with 24 wins. Most recently Smelkinson coached the 2017-18 Fighting Owls to a conference regular season record of 13-1 for an out-right regular season conference title and capped it off with a Md Juco tournament championship.

Smelkinson is no stranger to turning around programs, as he has had similar successes at rival Howard Community College prior to arriving in Bel Air. At Howard, Smelkinson doubled the win total from the previous year with 13 wins in his first season and improving in each successive season with 17 and 19 wins respectively. In those three years at the DII NJCAA level, Smelkinson garnered a conference regular season championship, Region 20 title, and a trip to the national tournament in Danville, Illinois. Before accepting the Howard CC job, Smelkinson served as the varsity coach at Marriotts Ridge High School in 2010-11 for a single year in which he took over a team who was winless the year before and coached them to eight victories including a playoff upset against Southern High School of Anne Arundel County.

Smelkinson started his career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, from 2008-10 during which time the Seahawks were a combined 47-9. He assisted in all coaching duties, including recruiting, scouting, player development, game management; and served as head coach of the JV squad. Smelkinson played his final two years of eligibility at St. Mary’s College, helping the team to a 2008 NCAA DIII Sweet 16 appearance. The Seahawks won the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament while Smelkinson led the CAC in assists. He started his collegiate career at NCAA DII’s California University of PA, playing in every game from 2004-06 and helping the team to back-to-back winning seasons.

As a standout at Long Reach High School, Smelkinson was a three-time 1^st team all Howard County selection as well as Howard County Player of the Year in 2004. He currently stands as the school’s all-time leader in points and assists.

Smelkinson represents Md Juco as President of the Coaches Association. In addition to serving as head basketball coach, He also assumes the role in the athletic department at Harford as the manager of compliance and student-athlete success. In this area he has developed initiatives that helped Harford’s student athletes achieve remarkable rankings academically.

Smelkinson graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in human studies. He earned his master’s degree in education from Walden University in 2013. He and his wife, Amber, reside in Baltimore with a 2 year old daughter, Skyler.?