Sam Hoyt enters her third season as an assistant women's basketball coach at Youngstown State in 2017-18. Hoyt is in her second stint at Youngstown State, having served as a graduate assistant during the 2013-14 season. She was an assistant coach at Division II Northwood University during 2014-15 and rejoined the staff at YSU in May of 2015.
Hoyt is in charge of the development of the Penguins' point guards, and she assists on the court in opponent scouting and practice planning. She serves as the program's primary recruiter in Michigan, and she also oversees YSU's equipment and compliance needs. Additionally, Hoyt helps run the team's annual golf outing and summer camps.
Indiya Benjamin has become one of the top point guards in the Horizon League with Hoyt on the Penguins’ staff. Benjamin is just the fourth player in conference history to lead the conference in assists per game in consecutive seasons. Benjamin will enter her senior year in 2017-18 with a chance to set Youngstown State’s career records for assists and 3-pointers.
In 2016-17, Benjamin’s 168 assists ranked as the fifth-most for a season in program history. During the season, Benjamin moved into the top eight in program history in career assists, and she also ranks in the top 20 in career points. The point guard was named the Coach Ed DiGregorio Team MVP.
The season also saw the emergence of guard Alison Smolinski as injuries cost several players the entire season. Smolinski led the Horizon League with 85 3-pointers on an efficient 39.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Smolinski ranked 19th in the country in 3s per game, and nobody in Division I made more 3s than her from Jan. 14 to the end of YSU’s season.
Youngstown State led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game for the third straight season, and it ranked second in the conference in free-throw percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Penguins made 254 3-pointers, surpassing 200 for the seventh consecutive season.
In Hoyt’s first season as an assistant, the Penguins won 21 games and advanced to the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) postseason tournament.
Sophomore guard Nikki Arbanas set the school record for 3-pointers made a season with 89. Benjamin made 58 3-pointers while Smolinski converted 43. Benjamin finished with a career-high 170 assists, 55 more than her total from her freshman season. Reserve point guard Jenna Hirsch and Arbanas also combined for 126 assists.
YSU ranked 12th in the NCAA making 8.8 3-pointers per game, was ninth in 3-pointers made and the guards showed stout defensive play as the Penguins were also 12th in 3-point FG defense. The Penguins ranked in the top 15 percent in the nation in fewest turnovers per game thanks to strong guard play. Youngstown State set a new school record for 3-pointers in a season with 299 in 2015-16.
In Hoyt's first stop at Youngstown State, the Penguins overachieved to finish third in the Horizon League and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament. They matched their best start ever to a conference season with six straight victories, and they had their best offense in more than a decade. The team's 70.3 points per game were the highest since 1999-2000, and they had their highest field goal percentage in 12 years.
In her year at Northwood, Hoyt helped coach the Timberwolves to an 18-11 overall record and a 14-8 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Northwood finished fourth in the regular season standings and tied a school record for most wins at the Division II level. Three Northwood student-athletes earned All-GLIAC honors, and Gabrielle Rivette was a first-team honoree as the conference's leader in 3-point shooting percentage.
Hoyt is a 2013 graduate of Michigan Tech where she was a three-year starter for the Huskies. She was recruited by and played her freshman year under Barnes, and she went on to have a highly successful career. She scored 1,434 points while leading Michigan Tech to a four-year record of 103-22. Hoyt was a First-Team Academic All-American as a senior and a Division II Honorable Mention All-American each of her last two seasons. Michigan Tech was the national runner-up with her as a starting guard as a sophomore.
Hoyt was a student assistant for Michigan Tech during the 2013 fall semester and worked basketball camps throughout her collegiate career.
In the classroom at Michigan Tech, Hoyt earned the Woman of Promise Award, which recognizes the achieving women at the university with promising futures. She made the Dean's list six times and received academic excellence awards from the mathematics department. Hoyt earned her bachelor's degree in math from Michigan Tech in 2013. She minored in economics with a concentration in secondary education and a coaching certificate.
Coaching Timeline
2015-Present — Youngstown State Assistant Coach
2014-15 — Northwood Assistant Coach
2014 — Youngstown State Graduate Assistant
2013 – Michigan Tech Student Assistant
