Syracuse basketball 2026 five-star priority recruit Jordan Smith Jr. is a preseason first-team All-American, according to MaxPreps.
The 6-foot-3 shooting guard, ranked No. 2 nationally in his class by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, was recently named by MaxPreps to its preseason All-America first team ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
The Orange has recruited Smith for quite a long time. The 'Cuse offered a scholarship to him in early May of 2023. He took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball earlier this month, as I first reported, and Smith also unofficially visited the Orange program in September of last year.
Smith has the 'Cuse in his top six, along with Arkansas, Duke, Georgetown, Indiana and Kentucky. He's not expected to sign during the early period that began on Wednesday and lasts through November 19. Duke is thought to be the leader for Smith, with other significant contenders including Arkansas and Georgetown.
Syracuse basketball priority target Jordan Smith Jr. is a preseason first-team All-American.
In the 2024-25 campaign, Smith averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., which went 27-6 overall and finished No. 10 in the final MaxPreps top 25.
MaxPreps named Smith its national junior of the year a season ago. He was also named to the 2024-25 Naismith All-America third team. Smith is pretty much a lock to be a McDonald's All-American in the 2025-26 season, while St. Paul VI is No. 6 nationally in the preseason MaxPreps top 25.
St. Paul VI competes in the loaded Washington Catholic Athletic Conference ("WCAC"), and the Panthers have won numerous WCAC titles in recent years. As a sophomore, Smith helped guide St. Paul VI to the championship game of the 2024 Chipotle Nationals.
In Smith's senior season, St. Paul VI is likely to compete for another berth in next spring's Chipotle Nationals. I was a little surprised that fellow Syracuse basketball 2026 priority recruit Deron Rippey Jr., a five-star point guard from New York City, didn't make any of the preseason MaxPreps All-America teams.
The 6-foot-2 Rippey, a standout at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., is ranked as high as No. 5 nationally in the 2026 class by Rivals. He officially visited the Orange in late September of this year.