Syracuse basketball among several teams prioritizing 5-star Jordan Smith from the DMV

These days, several suitors are prioritizing elite DMV product Jordan Smith Jr., including Syracuse basketball.

The 2026 five-star shooting guard, who is in the top 10 nationally of his class per most recruiting services, took an unofficial visit to the Hill last month. The Orange coaching staff, which offered the 6-foot-3 Smith a scholarship in early May of 2023, appears to be putting on the full-court press for this talented prospect from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region.

During the most recent AAU season, 'Cuse coaches were in attendance for Smith amid NCAA live periods. In early July, Syracuse basketball assistant coach Brenden Straughn was on hand to watch Smith help lead the USA Basketball U17 national team to the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.

A recent article from Matt Whitfield on zagsblog.com noted a couple of college squads that are currently prioritizing Smith. They include Georgetown, the Orange, Duke and Arkansas. To date, Smith's offer sheet totals more than 20, and this list features multiple blue-bloods and other heavyweights in the sport.

Syracuse basketball is recruiting 2026 five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr. hard.

Smith had an All-American campaign last season as a sophomore at the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., which was a top-five national program during the 2023-24 term. In the upcoming season, as a junior, Smith will once again contend for All-America honors, experts say.

Over the spring and summer, Smith earned a ton of high praise from national analysts and scouts while competing for the 17U group of the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike's EYBL league. Syracuse basketball coaches have long-standing ties to both St. Paul VI and Team Takeover, something that Smith has noted in various interviews.

Smith recently said in part to Whitfield, "Georgetown, I like the coaching staff. They make me feel welcome every time I come up there. And Syracuse it’s like the same thing. All their coaches have coached with my high school coach so they have a great relationship together."

More recently, earlier this month, Smith was named a standout by recruiting experts for his play at a USA Basketball junior national team minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colo.

To that end, 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham wrote in a recent piece about Smith, "The guy is just an absolute menace and dog on the court that is the last person you want to see matched up against you as a ball-handler. His length, strength, instincts and toughness are second to none and he came up with winning play after winning play. What makes 'Smitty' special is his ability to dominate a game without ever touching the ball. His defense and positional rebounding are elite but he has also been putting in some real work behind the scenes. The biggest area for improvement with Smith has been his jumper and at USAB he made the most out of his shot opportunities, making jumpers from both mid-range and three throughout the weekend."

Currently, the majority of recruiting services, within the 2026 class, rank Smith in the top 10 overall, the top three at shooting guard and the No. 1 prospect coming out of Virginia.

In a recent story, Rivals.com national analyst Jason Jordan said that he's looking forward to watching Smith during the upcoming season at St. Paul VI, which suits up in the loaded Washington Catholic Athletic Conference ("WCAC").

Jordan wrote, "Smith was one of the most explosive guards in the country this summer and he’ll have more of a go-to role at national powerhouse Paul VI this season. How does he handle the bullseye? That’s always something I look for with prospects."