Ohio State Five-Star Commit LJ Smith Reclassifying, Joining Buckeyes for 2026-27 Season

Five-star guard LJ Smith, who has been committed to the Buckeyes since Nov. 20, 2025, announced Monday that he is reclassifying to the 2026 class, immediately bolstering OSU's backcourt this season.

Smith steadily climbed up the class rankings over the last year and a half after transferring to Oak Hill Academy, becoming the No. 5 combo guard and 25th-ranked player in the 2027 class. The 6-4, 180-pounder averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 41% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc in 14 EYBL Scholastic games for Oak Hill last season. He led the team with 432 minutes played throughout the 14 games (30.8 minutes per game).

@ElitePlatformNC @Phenom_Hoops @oakhillhoops pic.twitter.com/tOHcnwLZEo

— LJ Smith (@LJSmith23972065) December 21, 2025

Before transferring to Oak Hill in 2025, Smith set the North Carolina single-season record for points as a sophomore, racking up 960 in 29 games for an average of 33.1 points per game. It's the fourth-highest scoring season in North Carolina high school history, regardless of grade level. He also averaged 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

Smith averaged 13.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and shot 42% from 3-point range last summer while playing for Team Thad on the Nike EYBL Circuit. He was the youngest player on the team, as he played up on the U17 Circuit.

@NikeEYB @TeamThadNation pic.twitter.com/7l660q5DqM

— LJ Smith (@LJSmith23972065) April 27, 2026

Smith began playing on varsity as an eighth grader, when he averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. That increased to 32.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a freshman before he set the North Carolina high school basketball season ablaze his sophomore season.

Smith joins forwards Anthony Thompson and Alex Smith and center Vuk Lazarevic in Ohio State’s freshman class for the 2026-27 season. He becomes the Buckeyes’ eighth new player for 2026-27, joining former California guard Justin Pippen, former Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavić, former Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams and former Memphis guard Curtis Givens III from the portal.

On June 1, Jake Diebler made note of Ohio State's depth as a team, which has now gained another guard in the backcourt.

“I think this is the deepest team we've had, and I don't know that it's even close,” Diebler said two weeks ago. “So I'm excited about that.”

With the addition of Smith to the 2026 class, it’s the first time since 2008 (B.J. Mullens and William Buford) that Ohio State has signed two five-star prospects in the same class. Thompson is OSU's fourth-highest-rated prospect in the modern recruiting era to sign with the Buckeyes behind only Greg Oden, Mullens and Jared Sullinger.

Two of Ohio State’s eight highest-rated recruits since 2000 — Thompson and Smith — will now be on the Buckeyes for the 2026-27 season.