Senior guard Grady Smitley, who helped Charleston boys basketball register its first winning record in more than a decade, has signed a letter-of-intent to play basketball at Greenville University.

Smitley averaged 9.1 pts, 4.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, helping to lead the Trojans to an 18-11 overall record and an 8-4 mark in the Apollo Conference, good for second place. After going 2-12 the year before, the Trojans earned their first winning season in nine years and recorded their most wins since the 2005-2006 season. 

The 5-foot-11 guard also nailed a field goal with 10.2 seconds remaining to lead Charleston to a 42-41 victory over Mahomet-Seymour in an Apollo Conference boys basketball game early in the season, which helped get the team rolling.

He also scored a team-high 24 points in mid-February to help CHS top Paris 64-55. The senior made three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half and scored 11 of the team’s 15 points in a third quarter that extended Charleston’s lead to 11.

“Grady embodies what it means to be a Trojan basketball player,” Charleston coach Cody Drone said. “His work ethic, toughness, grit, and perseverance are second to none. He is a testament that hard work and commitment pay off. Throughout the entirety of this season, Grady was one of our consistent performers, never giving up. He is a great shooter and stepped up to fill the role of point guard and main ball handler for our team. He hit timely shots and made many winning plays for us as well. Grady played a major role in the team’s success this season, and I’m looking forward to seeing him continue his basketball career next year.”

Greenville, located about 90 miles southwest of Charleston, finished 5-21 overall this past season, going 4-10 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after averaging 110.2 points per game and allowing 129.