Syracuse Basketball: 5-star Jordan Smith sets Duke visit, notes teams in most contact

By all accounts, Syracuse basketball coaches are prioritizing 2026 five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. from the talent-rich Washington, D.C., market.

At the same time, the Orange staff is facing hefty - and growing - competition for the 6-foot-3 Smith, who is ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in his class and has evolved into a significant contender for the No. 1 overall spot in the 2026 cycle, according to recent comments by some national analysts.

Smith is a standout rising junior at the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., after earning All-America honors as a sophomore for this elite program. His offer sheet has grown to more than 20, including blue-blood squads such as Duke, North Carolina, two-time defending national champion Connecticut, Kansas and numerous other heavyweight teams.

Now, for a bit of context, the Orange staff offered a scholarship to Smith in early May of 2023. The 'Cuse has been recruiting him longer than many other suitors, and Smith said earlier this summer that he's likely to take an official visit to Syracuse basketball at some point.

Five-star Jordan Smith Jr. speaks highly of the Syracuse basketball coaching staff.

In various recent interviews, Smith has said a lot of positive things about the Orange staff, which has deep recruiting ties to both St. Paul VI and his AAU program, the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

Per several media reports this week, Smith plans to go on an unofficial visit to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Duke on September 28. Recruiting insider Sam Kayser, who runs the X account 24/7 High School Hoops, noted in a post that Michigan State, Louisville, Duke and Kansas are the four schools Smith is "hearing from a lot right now."

Now, the recruiting processes of top-flight prospects such as Smith will ebb and flow, and he's only a rising junior in high school. So there's no reason to believe, from my perspective, that the Orange isn't a legit contender to ultimately prevail for Smith.

Naturally, a huge key for the 'Cuse is getting him on the Hill for a visit in the future. The Syracuse basketball staff was in attendance for Smith during the most recent EYBL circuit.

When the 2026 contact period opened on June 15, enabling college coaches to initiate direct communication with players in this class, Smith heard from the Orange.

Last month, he helped lead the USA Basketball U17 national team to the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey. During this international event, Syracuse basketball assistant coach Brenden Straughn was on hand to watch Smith.

To the best of my knowledge, the 'Cuse staff has offered scholarships to at least 10 prospects in the 2026 cycle, including five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. and five-star guard/small forward Alex Constanza, both of whom are expected to take official visits to Syracuse basketball, I've been told.