Bulldog Billy Smith signs with UNLV Golf
Whitefish High School student Billy Smith signs a letter of intent to golf at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) next year. His mother Ashley Smith and sister Morgan Tyler joined Billy on signing day at Whitefish High School. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish senior Billy Smith, a leader on the Bulldog golf team since transferring here three years ago, has had a longtime goal to play collegiate golf.
Last week, Smith signed a letter of intent to golf for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
Smith said he made his decision after talking with coaches at UNLV for about six months and officially decided on the school back in March. He’s looking forward to the new experience ahead.
“I love the facility and I love Vegas. The coaches are awesome,” Smith said. “Coach Herbert, I’ve known him for a long time, so it was nice kind of knowing someone already there, that helped me a lot with my decision.”
Smith has been a contender in the state in Class A since moving to Whitefish from Texas his sophomore year. In 2020, he was runner-up to his teammate Cameron Kahle who took medalist honors at the State A tournament. He helped Whitefish to the Class A State Title as a team that year.
In 2021, Smith was runner-up again at the state tournament and this last season as a senior he tied for third place. And outside of high school golf, Smith won the 2022 Montana Junior Tournament.
Smith now looks forward to taking his game to the next level and becoming a collegiate athlete, just as his siblings have done.
“It’s awesome, it’s always been a dream of mine to play college golf and hopefully play out of college as well,” he said.