ESPN’s SportsCenter has a daily segment highlighting the top ten plays in all of sports that day. And on Feb. 14, the No.1 spot was held by sophomore attacker Jill Smith from the Michigan women’s lacrosse team.
Smith took a pass in transition from a teammate with all of her momentum moving down to the ground. Before she hit the grass, she swung her stick behind her head to sink a shot in the left corner of the goalie’s net.
A women’s lacrosse game made national news due to Smith’s highlight-reel shot. A clip on a broadcast might be a small moment for the casual viewer, but it was significantly meaningful coming from Smith, who has spent years playing lacrosse in Michigan while navigating a sport dominated by the East Coast.
Smith’s spirit was clear as she jumped into her teammates’ arms after being picked up off the ground. The execution and commitment showcased in the viral video are the exact qualities that have propelled her journey since the beginning of her athletic career. That drive started in elementary school when she first grabbed a stick.
But before that, she had another love.
Smith grew up in a basketball household. Her dad played basketball at two different colleges and her brothers played as well. Smith was no different as she lettered through four years of high school ball.
“Whatever sport she played, whether it was basketball, softball or lacrosse, she was super competitive,” Jill’s dad, Brian, told The Michigan Daily. “That always kind of separated her at a young age, and it’s funny to see that’s still kind of her thing now.”
But some saw a different spark when Jill picked up her first lacrosse stick in fifth grade. Her travel team coach, Chris Merucci, who coached her from the beginning of her lacrosse career up until college, saw innate talent from day one.
“So when I met her and she put a lacrosse stick in her hand, we were immediately floored,” Merucci told The Daily. “The number one thing about Jill was at even 11, 12, 13 years old, (there) was a level of competitiveness and tenacity that you don’t see at a younger age.”
Her overall competitiveness didn’t stop when she found lacrosse in the fifth grade. Her natural athletic ability and desire to win couldn’t be contained to just one sport early on. But no matter what sport she played, her competitive flare was clear. When she was in elementary school, her friends wanted her to join their soccer team just because they believed Jill could help them win the championship.
The intensity of Jill’s play showed positive results. When she decided to pursue lacrosse alone, she knew the odds were against her. While playing club lacrosse in Michigan helped her hone her skills, Jill had to compete against the East Coast teams that dominated the lacrosse world. She sought out opportunities to be seen, playing for teams out of Maryland and Chicago. Those showings gave Jill the chance to compete against skilled and talented players who likely were surrounded by the sport from a young age.
Even though Jill was traveling around the country to get her chance to play the best, it didn’t interfere with her high school career. She lettered in three years, with her junior year being canceled due to COVID-19, and her competitiveness didn’t waver through the seasons. In her three years, Jill worked overtime, setting 37 different state records in Michigan, including the record for most points in a single high school game with 21.
And when the time came to decide where she would spend her collegiate career, Jill stayed true to her Michigan roots.
“When you’re younger, all you think about is the Northwestern and Maryland, the ones that are winning the championships,” Jill said. “… Growing with the program instead of going to one that already wins, I thought was really cool.”
Her freshman year as a Wolverine showed glimpses of the competitive spirit she had embodied throughout her entire career. She came off the bench in 14 games and started in the final four games of the season. Two of those final games for Michigan were in the NCAA Tournament where Jill recorded back-to-back hat tricks including in the final game against the Wildcats, a known powerhouse for women’s lacrosse in not only the Big Ten, but in the country. Jill had shown she was up to snuff and could compete with the big-name schools.
Going into her sophomore year, those playoff games were just the beginning of Jill’s success for the Wolverines. What started as a remarkable streak quickly became the norm for her.
She broke both the career goals and points record for Michigan last season. In the first six games of the 2023 season, she had a hat trick in each and scored a season-high six goals in a single game during just the second game of the season. 14 hat-tricks only added to her achievements — all qualities worthy of being a Tewaaraton Award nominee.
And Jill’s list of accolades only goes on from there.
When the Wolverines faced Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs last year, it was a different game than usual. Though the score was 8-7 in favor of the Wildcats, Smith-led Michigan got within one goal of its first win in program history over Northwestern — the closest the Wolverines had ever gotten. Jill’s two goals and competitive drive gave Michigan a fighting chance against a team that would later on go to win the National Championship a few games later.
Even though that game didn’t end in the Wolverines’ favor, Jill made sure that each game that season was never too far out of reach. And this season, that effort is putting Michigan not only on the map, but in the rankings.
“This year she’s really had to evolve into a bit more of a leadership role,” Wolverines coach Hannah Nielsen said. “But also learning how she can still be impactful and it may not be with the same amount of goals as last year, but it might be in a different way.”
Going into her junior year, there was a new level of pressure. More eyes were looking to Ann Arbor to see what Jill Smith would do.
And currently, No. 2 Michigan is 11-0 undefeated.
Its best start and highest ranking in program history are due in large part to Jill’s 35 goals, but her impact has gone past just the numbers on the scoreboard. She’s getting assists to her teammates and she’s going to the circle to take the draw controls. And when her team scores a goal, she’s always the first one to celebrate.
“I think to put out consistent efforts game in and game out shows the kind of competitor she is,” Nielsen said. “I think we’ve seen that sort of every day since she’s been here. A kid that hates to lose.”
With each play, Jill leaves everything she has on the field, even if she has to go to the ground to get the goal. People are watching, not only her future opponents but the future players of the game.
“The biggest thing, the most impactful thing that has resulted from Jill’s tremendous success is all of the girls, not only in my club, they can look at her and say a girl from Michigan can be a Tewaaraton finalist and can be record-breaking,” Merucci said. “She has set a precedent and paved a path for generations of girls.”
Young eyes are on her and she’s giving them something to believe in. Jill has proven that girls from Michigan can be successful at a sport that doesn’t get enough recognition in the state. She’s becoming a role model for players who want to go far, but don’t necessarily see themselves reflected at the high levels. And she’s even opening the door and displaying the world of collegiate lacrosse to mainstream media.
Her role for young girls is far more impactful than what she is doing on the field, though her impressive play does help.
Offering an inspiring image to those players is creating a role model for the next generation of lacrosse players. Jill will have her name on multiple records alongside future wins that will leave a mark on the Wolverines’ program.
But her true impact will come from the next girl from Michigan who wants to wear maize and blue because of her.