An Upper Arlington High School standout completed a lifelong dream on Monday.
Alex Smith, a forward in the recruiting class of 2026, committed to Ohio State over offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Nebraska and Xavier.
I want to thank my family and everyone who supported me through this process. That being said I will be committing to THE Ohio State University! Go bucks pic.twitter.com/WXlvDbwEyH
— alex smith (@alexx_smith26) September 2, 2024
"Ever since I could walk, ever since I could talk, I've always been a Buckeye fan," Smith told Eleven Warriors. "It's my dream to go to OSU. Just to be able to commit now, it's kind of a surreal feeling to think that all the hard work that I've put in has now paid off and it's my dream school."
The Smith File
- Class: 2026
- Size: 6-9/190
- Pos: Forward
- School: Upper Arlington (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
- Composite Rating: N/A
- Composite Rank: N/A
Smith's been a late riser in the recruiting process.
He hit a growth spurt this past year to sprout up to 6-9, and with it came constant time in the gym to improve his craft. Smith went from a player well off the radar of major programs to picking up five Power Five offers in a matter of months.
Smith was one of the top standouts at Ohio State's recruiting camps in June, and with that came an offer from the Buckeyes on June 17.
Put him on skates @ZachFleer270 @270Hoops @CoachDRamey613 pic.twitter.com/UkbUkZlfLR
— alex smith (@alexx_smith26) June 7, 2024
While Smith is unranked in the 247Sports composite, which could change with time, Ohio State is a believer in Smith's growth over the past year as he's developed incredible ball-handling and shooting skills at his size.
"My range has extended," Smith said. "I could shoot the ball really well on the high school line, now I'm shooting NBA 3s. Nobody in high school can really guard the NBA line. Then I also took strides becoming (more like) a bigger guard. Just dribbling, passing, facilitating, all that type of stuff."
Smith fits with some of the versatile additions Jake Diebler has made to the Buckeyes' roster. With his size and skill combination, he could play power or small forward at the next level. While Diebler hasn't attached a specific label to Smith or many of his players, the plan for Smith is to play as a power forward with a real shooting threat.
"(Diebler) doesn't necessarily tag people as numbers, but if you want to play the numbers game, he sees me as a stretch 4," Smith said. "Someone who can step outside, knock the three-ball down. Of course, I need to add some muscle and some weight to me to be able to play the 4 coming in my freshman year. So that's definitely something me and Jake will look at and start now, my junior year of (high school), instead of starting it when I get into college."
A visit to Columbus this past weekend, the latest of many for Smith, sealed the deal for his services. While there, he connected with five-star point guard Marcus Johnson, Ohio State's other commitment in the 2026 class.
"He actually reached out a couple weeks ago," Smith said. "Funny enough, he was like, 'You gonna commit?' I was like, yeah, I can't say anything right now. ... Building a relationship now is gonna help, because the longer of a relationship you have, the more trust we're gonna have in each other (at Ohio State)."
The Buckeyes plan to add one more prospect to complement Smith and Johnson in their 2026 recruiting class. They hold one pledge in the class of 2025 from four-star shooting guard Dorian Jones.
*Some* highlights from this year! @MidwestBBClub pic.twitter.com/DnTTcrATR7
— alex smith (@alexx_smith26) July 18, 2024
