The recruitment of the nation’s No. 2 prospect, 2026 five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr., has a leader, analysts say.
Jordan Smith, Nation’s No. 2 Prospect, Has Leader in Recruitment
The 6-foot-3 Smith recently disclosed a final six of Arkansas, Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Kentucky and Syracuse. Analysts say that Smith may not make a college decision by the early signing period in December. But for now, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Duke Blue Devils are trending for the elite DMV product.
National analysts who claim that blue-blood program Duke is currently the favorite for Smith include Joe Tipton and Jamie Shaw of On3/Rivals and Travis Branham of 247Sports. Tipton believes that Arkansas is in the No. 2 spot for Smith, with Georgetown a “sneaky contender.”
Shaw writes in a recent piece: “Duke has carried a lot of the buzz around Smith for the majority of the recruitment.” While Branham agrees that Duke is the front-runner, he says Arkansas, Georgetown and Syracuse are also in the thick of this recruiting race. The Hoyas and the Orange have recruited Smith hard for a long time. Georgetown is a local team for him, while the Syracuse staff has deep ties to Smith’s AAU and high school programs.
Keep an Eye On Visits
Smith has officially visited Duke and unofficially visited both Georgetown and Syracuse. According to analysts, Smith has official visits scheduled to Arkansas and Kentucky. He has said he wants to visit all of his finalists before making a decision. As such, look for Smith to also potentially take official visits to Georgetown, Syracuse and Indiana, while making a second trip to the Blue Devils.
A Stunning Result at Peach Jam
This spring and summer on the EYBL circuit, Smith was hailed by analysts and scouts as a top performer. He helped guide the 17U squad of the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover to a 14-1 record during the EYBL regular season. Last month, at the season-ending Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., Team Takeover was the favorite to cut down the nets in the 17U division.
However, Team Takeover only went 3-2 in pool play and didn’t even qualify for the Peach Jam’s quarterfinal round, which stunned experts. Still, with college coaches in attendance during a live period, Smith played well. He averaged 20.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, showcasing his scoring abilities and defensive prowess.
For his efforts at Peach Jam, the scouting experts at The Circuit named Smith to their All-Peach first team and their All-Defensive squad. However, it had to greatly disappoint Smith and his Team Takeover colleagues to not make it out of pool play at this prestigious event.
Golden Summer
In July, Smith was a key contributor as USA Basketball captured the gold medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland. Smith received the defensive MVP award for his efforts. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Smith also connected on 54.5 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent from the free-throw line as the USA went a perfect 7-0.
All-American High School Career
Smith is a standout rising senior at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va. As a junior in the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest. MaxPreps named him its national junior of the year. In 2024-25, St. Paul VI went 27-6 and finished No. 10 nationally, per ESPN and MaxPreps.
Looking ahead to 2025-26, MaxPreps has St. Paul VI at No. 2 in its preseason top 25 for the upcoming campaign. With Smith leading the charge, the Panthers will eye a bid to the season-ending Chipotle Nationals. He will also contend for first-team All-America honors.
© Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK
The post Jordan Smith, Nation’s No. 2 Prospect Has Leader in Recruitment appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.