Syracuse Basketball: 5-star D.C. guard, who plans to visit, shoots into top 10 nationally

Syracuse basketball 2026 priority recruit Jordan Smith Jr. from the Washington, D.C., market, who was exceptional earlier this month at a high school showcase, has vaulted inside the top 10 across the country in his class.

The 6-foot-3 Smith, a five-star shooting guard, moved to No. 9 nationwide in the sophomore class when ESPN recently updated its 2026 rankings.

ESPN also has him as the No. 2 shooting guard and the No. 1 prospect in Virginia within the 2026 cycle.

Smith is the second Orange target to reside within the top 10 in these new ratings.

Alex Constanza, a five-star guard/small forward out of the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who received a ‘Cuse scholarship offer in mid-January, arrived at No. 3 overall in ESPN’s refreshed 2026 national rankings.

Syracuse basketball, these days, is recruiting five-star Jordan Smith Jr. hard.

Smith is having a strong sophomore campaign for a top-five national team, the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., a program where Orange head coach Adrian Autry was an assistant coach a while back.

Earlier this month, St. Paul VI competed in the prestigious Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., with the Syracuse basketball coaching staff on hand for some of the games at this annual event that features a loaded field year after year.

Numerous national analysts and scouts praised Smith for his play at the Hoophall Classic. He also helped guide St. Paul VI to The Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions title earlier this month in Springfield, Mo.

Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Smith last May. His early offer sheet also includes schools such as Maryland, Providence, Kansas State, Georgetown, Mount St. Mary’s, Villanova and George Mason.

As I reported not too long ago, the ‘Cuse coaching staff is working to get Smith on the SU campus for a visit at some point. He has unofficially visited Villanova and Georgetown.

On the AAU circuit, Smith is a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. Both Autry and Orange assistant coach Brenden Straughn previously served as assistants with this exceptional grassroots basketball program.

Current Syracuse basketball players Justin Taylor, a sophomore wing, and Benny Williams, a junior forward, played for Team Takeover, among numerous other former Orange players.

What’s more, last July, ‘Cuse 2024 commit Donnie Freeman played a key role in helping lead Team Takeover to the 17U Peach Jam championship on the EYBL circuit.

In recent days, ESPN’s new rankings for the senior cycle jumped Freeman to five stars and inside the top 20, and the elite power forward was also recently named a McDonald’s All-American for the 2023-24 stanza.

Smith has said in interviews that he’s interested in the Orange, and Syracuse basketball coaches are pursuing him hard. That being said, he is going to land many more impressive offers, especially given that the contact period for the 2026 class doesn’t open up until June 15 of this year.

On a national scale, Smith is also No. 10 via On3, No. 14 via the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, and No. 15 via the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking.