It seems that Syracuse basketball coaches are focusing on two five-star prospects from the class of 2026: Deron Rippey Jr. from New York City and Jordan Smith Jr. from the Washington, D.C. area.
Rippey, a 6-foot-2 point guard, and Smith, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, both have offers from Syracuse. Rippey received his scholarship offer in late August of last year, while Smith’s offer came in early May 2023.
Earlier this past February on Jim Boeheim Day, Rippey visited the campus unofficially. His father has mentioned that Rippey is very interested in making an official visit to Syracuse in the future.
As for Smith, he recently informed On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw that he is also likely to take an official visit to the Orange soon.
While these are positive signs for Syracuse in their recruitment of these two top rising juniors, the competition to secure each player is heating up quickly.
Prestigious programs are competing for Syracuse basketball’s five-star recruits, Deron Rippey Jr. and Jordan Smith Jr
A recent post on X by prominent writer Charlie Parent reports that two-time defending national champion UConn is showing interest in Rippey, a standout player at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., and with the New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league.
Dan Hurley and Kimani Young of @UConnMBB are out recruiting Class of 2025 @blairbucs and @NH_Lightning PG Deron Rippey today https://t.co/Z3m2TMp9Vu
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) July 24, 2024
Meanwhile, Smith recently shared on his X page that he received a scholarship offer from the Huskies, previously a long-time Big East Conference rival of Syracuse. Other notable programs that have recently offered him include Duke, North Carolina, and Michigan, among others.
blessed to receive an offer from the university of connecticut #agtg pic.twitter.com/m10Tqanbyk
— Jordan Smith Jr (@sm23itty) July 25, 2024
Smith is an All-American player who competes at the prominent St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va. He excels on the EYBL circuit with Team Takeover, an AAU program that has strong recruiting ties to the Syracuse coaching staff.
Rippey’s impressive offer list includes schools like Michigan, West Virginia, Providence, Maryland, Louisville, LSU, Bryant, Rutgers, Illinois, Old Dominion, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Fordham, Hofstra, TCU, Long Island University, Washington, Texas A&M, George Washington, Binghamton, Georgia Tech, Villanova, and Wake Forest.
Analysts and social media posts indicate that colleges showing interest in Rippey include Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Indiana, and Auburn, among others.
Smith’s expanding list of offers includes Virginia, Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas, Rutgers, Penn State, Alabama, Missouri, Villanova, Arizona State, Florida State, Houston, Maryland, Providence, Kansas State, Georgetown, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech, and George Mason.
Rippey is ranked as a top-15 national prospect in the 2026 class and is a leading candidate for the No. 1 point guard spot in this cycle. Smith currently sits as high as No. 5 nationally in his class, with many experts suggesting he could contend for the No. 1 overall ranking in 2026.
In recent months, both Rippey and Smith have performed exceptionally well in grassroots basketball and at various showcases, with Syracuse’s coaching staff present for many of their games.
In mid-June, both players were recognized as top performers at the USA Basketball U17 national team training camp in Colorado Springs. Rippey was a finalist for the U17 national team, while Smith made it onto the 12-player roster and helped Team USA secure a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey, with Syracuse assistant coach Brenden Straughn in attendance.
It’s clear that more elite college programs will pursue Rippey and Smith as their recruitments progress. Currently, it seems Syracuse is well-positioned with both players, although the competition is expected to increase.
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