Hamilton Academical
Smith attended St Ninian's High School, Giffnock [2] and was involved with the youth system at Hamilton Academical, the club his family supported, [3] [4] from the age of 9. [5]
After signing a professional contract in summer 2016, [3] he appeared for the club's age-restricted teams in three editions of the Scottish Challenge Cup [6] and in the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League, [6] [7] [8] before making his debut for the Accies senior team on 31 October 2018, appearing from the bench for the last ten minutes of a 3–0 away defeat to Aberdeen in the 2018–19 Scottish Premiership. [9]
Smith made his first league start for the club on 10 August 2019 against Kilmarnock at New Douglas Park; he scored the opening goal and created the second in a 2–0 victory, receiving praise for his performance. [10] In November 2019 he signed a new contract with Hamilton, running until summer 2022. [11]
A hamstring injury disrupted his season in 2020–21 as Hamilton were relegated from the Premiership. [12] He signed a further contract extension, until summer 2024, in November 2021. [13] The club were relegated from the Scottish Championship in 2023, but Smith had an important role as they returned via the promotion play-offs a year later, scoring in wins over Alloa Athletic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. [14]
