Syracuse Basketball: 5-star Jordan Smith Jr. sets ‘Cuse unofficial visit, per analyst

Later this month, 2026 five-star shooting guard and top-five national prospect Jordan Smith Jr. from the talent-laden Washington, D.C., metropolitan area plans to visit two Atlantic Coast Conference schools, including Syracuse basketball.

Per DMV insider and top analyst/scout Colby Giacubeno, the 6-foot-3 Smith will take an unofficial visit to blue-blood program Duke on September 28.

Giacubeno had a subscriber-exclusive piece via madehoops.com on Smith. I’ll always, always respect Colby’s VIP work. However, I did trade messages directly with him, and Giacubeno tells me that Smith expects to also take an unofficial visit to the Orange from September 21 to September 22.

Naturally, this is an encouraging development for the ‘Cuse staff, although the competition to ultimately prevail for Smith is intense – and growing.

The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Smith in early May of 2023. Syracuse basketball coaches have recruited him hard for a while, and my assumption is that Smith is one of the team’s top targets in the 2026 class.

Smith put forth an All-American sophomore season during the 2023-24 campaign for the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., which this past spring finished as the runner-up at the 2024 Chipotle Nationals.

Looking ahead to 2024-25, when Smith is a junior, high school basketball experts envision St. Paul VI as a preseason top-10 national squad that will once again significantly contend for a berth in the eight-team Chipotle Nationals.

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.

In early July, Smith helped guide the USA Basketball U17 national team to the gold medal at the 2024 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey. At this international event, ‘Cuse assistant coach Brenden Straughn was in attendance for Smith; during the most recent AAU season, the Syracuse basketball staff was also on hand for Smith and Team Takeover when college coaches could watch prospects in person amid NCAA live periods.

As a junior, Smith could still have a way to go with his recruiting process. However, he’s also already amassed more than 20 scholarship offers. His suitors include heavyweights such as Duke, North Carolina, two-time defending national champion Connecticut, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Houston, among many others.

In several recent interviews, Smith has spoken highly of the Syracuse basketball program and its staff. Orange coaches have deep and long-standing recruiting ties to both St. Paul VI and Team Takeover.

I’ve caught up, over the last few weeks, with a couple of insiders regarding Smith’s recruitment. There doesn’t appear to be a front-runner for him at this juncture, and we’ll have to see how his Duke and ‘Cuse visits go, as well as what other schools he decides to visit in the future.

That being said, several experts have told me the Orange’s strong connections to the DMV are likely to make Syracuse basketball a solid contender for Smith as his recruiting process carries onward.