Kaleena Smith, a five-star point guard in the 2027 class from California who visited Syracuse women's basketball earlier this year, recently wrapped up a magical junior campaign.
The 5-foot-6 Smith, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle, has been named the national player of the year for the 2025-26 season by MaxPreps. A huge congrats to Kaleena!
According to MaxPreps, as a junior, Smith averaged a ridiculous 31.5 points per game, along with 6.9 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.7 rebounds per contest. In 2025-26, she connected on 54 percent from the field, 38 percent from beyond the arc and 89 percent from the free-throw line.
Her team, the powerhouse Ontario Christian School in Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles, went 34-2 overall in 2025-26 and was named the MaxPreps national champion.
Smith averaged a whopping 34.9 points per game during the 2023-24 stanza and was named the MaxPreps national freshman of the year. According to that media outlet, she's three points away from reaching 3,000 career points.
Syracuse women's basketball 5-star target Kaleena Smith was named the country's top player.
Earlier this month, amid the NCAA women's Final Four in Phoenix, Smith was invited to participate in a USA Basketball junior national team minicamp. Per a release, 42 athletes from the 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 classes were selected for this training camp, which took place from April 2 to April 5.
This past February, Smith took an official visit to Syracuse women's basketball. Amel Cook, a five-star guard/forward in the 2028 class out of the Windward School in Los Angeles, went on an unofficial visit to the 'Cuse that same weekend.
Besides the Orange, Smith's scholarship offer sheet includes schools such as UCLA, Southern California, Arizona State, Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, Auburn, Baylor, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, LSU, South Carolina, Louisville and UConn, among others.
I'll continue to track Smith's recruitment moving forward. I assume it will be a huge challenge for the 'Cuse to prevail for her, yet it was encouraging that Smith has officially visited Syracuse women's basketball.
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