Bianca Smith facts for kids

Bianca Smith was born in March 1991. She is an American coach in professional baseball. In 2021, she made history. She became the first African American woman to be a coach in a professional baseball team. She worked for the famous Boston Red Sox organization.

Early Life and School

Bianca Smith was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. When she was about six or seven years old, her family moved to Grapevine, Texas. Her father, Victor Smith, played college football at Dartmouth College. Her mother, Dawn Patterson, also went to Dartmouth. Bianca's mother loved the New York Yankees baseball team. She shared her love for baseball with Bianca. Bianca's step-brother, Reggie Cannon, is a professional soccer player.

Bianca went to Colleyville Heritage High School in Dallas. There, she played softball and was a team captain in her last year. She finished high school in 2008. After that, she went to Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth, she played on both the main varsity softball team and the club baseball team. In 2012, she earned a degree in sociology from Dartmouth.

Bianca wanted to become a baseball general manager. So, she went to Case Western Reserve University. In 2017, she earned two more degrees: a law degree (called a J.D.) and a business degree (called an MBA) in sports management. While studying, from 2013 to 2017, Bianca also worked for the Case Western Reserve Spartans baseball team. She was their director of baseball operations.

Coaching Career

In 2018, Bianca Smith started her coaching journey. She was a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Dallas college baseball team. She also worked as an intern for the Texas Rangers baseball team. She even interned at the main office of Major League Baseball.

In 2019, she worked for the Cincinnati Reds team. She was a trainee in their baseball operations department. Later in 2019, she got a job at Carroll University in Wisconsin. She became an assistant athletic director. She was also an assistant baseball coach and helped players with their hitting. Bianca used a lot of statistics and data to help her coaching.

On December 31, 2020, a newspaper called The Boston Globe shared big news. They reported that the Boston Red Sox would hire Bianca Smith. She would be a minor league coach. Her work would be in Fort Myers, Florida, helping position players. On January 4, 2021, the Red Sox officially announced her hiring.

This made Bianca Smith the first African American woman to be a coach in a professional baseball organization. She was assigned to the Red Sox's Fenway South complex. This complex is where their minor league teams train. She even got sponsorships from big companies like Nike, Oakley, and Topps.

In 2022, Bianca continued coaching at the Fort Myers complex. Later that year, she coached for the Scottsdale Scorpions. This team plays in the Arizona Fall League. In 2023, Bianca decided to look for new opportunities. She chose not to stay with the Red Sox organization.

See also

• Jennifer King – first full-time African American woman coach in National Football League
• Alyssa Nakken – first full-time female coach in Major League Baseball
• Buck O'Neil – first African American coach in Major League Baseball
• Women in baseball