Prairie View A & M University Men's Basketball

Byron Smith enters his 11th season with the Prairie View A&M men’s basketball program and his 10th full season as head coach of the Panthers. Since taking over the program, Smith has transformed PVAMU into one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s premier programs. Under his leadership, the Panthers have captured two SWAC regular season championships (2018-19, 2019-20) and two SWAC Tournament titles (2019, 2026), earning multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. Most recently, Smith guided Prairie View A&M to the 2026 SWAC Tournament Championship, securing the program’s third NCAA Tournament appearance and his second as head coach. The Panthers made a remarkable run as the No. 8 seed, capturing the title behind standout performances from Dontae Horne, who was named Tournament MVP and earned All-Tournament honors, and Lance Williams, who was also selected to the All-Tournament Team. The 2018-19 season marked one of the most dominant campaigns in program history. Prairie View A&M compiled a 22-13 record, the most wins by a Division I team in school history, and posted a 17-1 mark in SWAC play. The Panthers also claimed both the SWAC regular season and tournament championships for the first time in school history under Smith. That season featured road victories over Santa Clara and Texas Southern, while ranking third nationally in turnovers forced (18.2 per game) and 10th in steals per game (8.8). Following that breakthrough, Smith led the Panthers to a successful title defense in 2019-20, finishing 19-13 overall and 14-4 in conference play. The Panthers earned non-conference wins over Central Arkansas and UTSA, and posted a perfect 12-0 record at home inside the William J. Nicks Building (“Baby Dome”). That home stretch extended the Panthers’ home winning streak to 27 games, one of the longest active streaks in the nation at the time. Individually, Smith has guided several standout performers at PVAMU. Devonte Patterson earned SWAC Player of the Year honors along with First Team All-SWAC and BOXTOROW All-America recognition, while Gerard Andrus, Gary Blackston and Dennis Jones also earned All-SWAC honors. Dontae Horne added to that legacy in 2026 with SWAC Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team recognition, while Lance Williams earned All-Tournament Team honors. Smith was named SWAC Coach of the Year following the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Smith was elevated to interim head coach during the 2015-16 season and earned his first career head coaching victory over defending SWAC champion Texas Southern. That season, the Panthers recorded milestone road wins at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern, marking their first victories at those venues in over a decade. During that stretch, Jayrn Johnson emerged as one of the league’s top scorers, averaging 20.5 points over the final 11 games and earning multiple SWAC Player of the Week honors. Prior to becoming head coach, Smith served as an assistant at Prairie View A&M, where he helped develop Reggis Onwukamuche into the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014-15. Smith has also worked as an assistant coach at Texas Southern, Texas A&M, and served as interim head coach at Texas Southern during the 2000-01 season. His coaching background includes leading the Houston Swoosh AAU program, serving as head coach for the Harlem Globetrotters (2002-03), and working as Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Houston under Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. As a player, Smith starred at the University of Houston from 1989-91, earning All-Southwest Conference honors twice. He also played at Northwestern State and Tyler Junior College before launching a six-year professional career overseas, including four seasons in Australia and stints in Turkey and Greece. A native of Bossier City, Louisiana, Smith was an all-state selection at Airline High School after leading the state in scoring as a senior. He is the father of two children, Christopher and Kayla.  

Robertson returns to the Panther family on August 1, 2019 this time to serve as an assistant men's basketball coach. In his first year, the Panthers found championship success in winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season championship for the second-straight year.  He comes to Prairie View A&M after a brief one-year stint as the assistant women’s basketball coach at perennial division two college power Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas where he helped ASU to a conference championship and sweet sixteen finish in the NCAA division two national tournament. Prior to coaching at Prairie View A&M, Robertson was the assistant women's basketball coach at Trinity Valley Community College, which has been a power at the junior college level.  The Lady Cardinals reached the NJCAA National Championship game three times in Robertson's four years with the team, winning the championship in both 2013 and 2014.  Before joining the collegiate coaching ranks, Robertson got his start with basketball personal training right out of high school. He helped start TMK Hoops in his home state of Kansas and was the assistant program director, helping recruit and mentor more than 40 student athletes.  Robertson also worked for DFW Elite as an assistant program director, coaching athletes from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. One of his DFW Elite teams finished in the Elite Eight of the prestigious Nike Nationals Tournament in 2015. The Wichita State graduate received his bachelor's in criminal justice in 2015. In 2010 Robertson began working as an AAU coach and personal trainer in the Wichita and Kansas City area, working with middle and high school athletes. Robertson has experience in running high school showcases and NCAA certified tournaments, along with being a consultant for numerous NCAA certified recruiting services.    .  

Bringing more than a decade of Division I coaching experience to the Prairie View men’s basketball program, Keith Berard begins his first season as an assistant coach with the Panthers. Berard arrives on “The HILL” after a 3-year stint at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, CA. With Berard, the Mustangs enjoyed their most wins under John Smith and a first round Big West Conference tournament upset over Long Beach State. Prior to Cal Poly, Berard served two stints (10 years) at Houston Baptist University (Now Houston Christian University). With Berard, the Huskies enjoyed their most successful year since returning to Division I during the 2016-17 season as HBU finished 17-14 overall and tied for second in the Southland Conference standings with a mark of 12-6. HBU closed the 2016-17 regular season with nine successive wins before being selected for the postseason CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Berard, also was an assistant coach with Houston Baptist from 2007-2012, served as head JV/Varsity assistant coach at Episcopal HS in Houston from 2013-2016. While an assistant coach at Weber State University during the 2012-13 season, Berard helped the Wildcats to an impressive 30-7 record (Most wins in Big Sky Conference history), 18-2 finish in Big Sky Conference and a second-place finish in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Berard is no stranger to the SWAC. Prior to his initial stretch with Houston Baptist, Berard was an assistant coach at Texas Southern University, assisting the Tigers to the 2003 Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Also, a three-year assistant at College of Eastern Utah (Now Utah State-Eastern) and one-year assistant at Howard College. During his only year at Howard, Berard helped the Hawks to a 26-6 overall record, 14-0 undefeated WTJCAC record. Berard played basketball at Southern Utah University (1993-95) after transferring from two-year Weatherford (Texas) College. Berard earned All American West Conference first team honors in 1995 after helping Southern Utah to the league regular and tournament titles. He ranks among Southern Utah’s all time single season leaders for 3-point percentage, assists and steals. A Houston native who played at St. Thomas HS, Berard earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Southern Utah in 1996 before embarking on a professional playing career in Switzerland. In the Southern Utah record book, Berard ranks sixth all-time with 149 three-pointers made, top 15 with a 40.9 percent three-point mark, 16th with 188 assists and 24th with 744 points. Berard and his wife, Sabrina, have two daughters: Katelyn Dion (recent college graduate) and Khloe Dion (senior in HS).