Syracuse basketball 5-star target lands blue-blood offers, contends for No. 1 ranking

Syracuse basketball 2026 priority recruit Jordan Smith Jr., a five-star shooting guard from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, continues to see his national rankings and offer sheet soar.

The 6-foot-3 Smith, who has risen to as high as No. 5 nationally in his class per ESPN, is gaining traction as a significant contender for the No. 1 overall ranking in the 2026 cycle, according to recruiting analysts, scouts and other observers.

The Orange staff, which offered a scholarship to him in early May of 2023, is recruiting Smith hard. Syracuse basketball coaches, dating back to the late spring, have watched him during various live periods on the AAU circuit.

Earlier this month, the 'Cuse was also among numerous suitors in attendance for Smith as he helped lead the USA Basketball U17 national team to the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.

Not too long ago, Smith told On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw that he's likely to take an official visit to the Hill at some point, although nothing has been scheduled at this time. Smith and other rising juniors in high school can begin taking official visits to college campuses on August 1.

Syracuse basketball faces intense competition for 5-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr.

Smith, whose offer list has grown to more than 20, in recent days has picked up new scholarship offers from blue-blood programs Duke and North Carolina, along with Michigan, according to his X page.

His full offer sheet, to date, includes other schools such as Virginia, Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas, Rutgers, Penn State, Alabama, Missouri, Villanova, Arizona State, Florida State, Houston, Maryland, Providence, Kansas State, Georgetown, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech and George Mason.

During the 2023-24 campaign, as a sophomore, Smith earned All-America honors in helping guide the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., to several championships in the D.C. region while also advancing to the title game of early April's Chipotle Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind.

This spring and summer in grassroots hoops, Smith has proven a standout for the 17U squad of the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league, an AAU program to which the Orange staff has deep recruiting ties.

Last weekend, at the EYBL's annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C., Team Takeover reached the semifinals in the 17U division before falling to the eventual champion, the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite.

According to posts on X, the 'Cuse was in the house for one of Team Takeover's games at Peach Jam, on July 14, amid an NCAA live period. Smith earned well-deserved honors for his play during the EYBL's regular season that ran from late April through late May.

His performances at Peach Jam were equally as strong, as Smith averaged 12.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per encounter, according to the EYBL Web site.

This week in an article, Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy discussed Smith's 2026 rankings from that recruiting service. Cassidy wrote in part, "Smith is a lock to find himself in the top five in the next update, and his name doesn't feel out of place in the internal debate about the No. 1 spot."