Jake Diebler and the Ohio State basketball team just got some big news. Five-star combo guard L.J. Smith will reclassify and join the 2026 team.
Smith is ranked as the No. 5 combo guard and No. 25-ranked player overall according to 247Sports composite rankings. He is the No. 1 player in Virginia coming out of Oak Hill Academy. In just one season at the prep school, Smith averaged nearly 17 points per game. Prior to joining Oak Hill, Smith was a record-setting guard in North Carolina. As a sophomore, he averaged just over 33 points per game over the course of 29 contests. He set the single-season record for points scored by a sophomore in the Tarheel State with 960 points.
This is a huge boost for the Buckeyes and gives the team even greater depth entering into Diebler’s third full season. Smith will pair up with another five-star talent in freshman Anthony Thompson, who is a top-10 player in this year’s recruiting class.
The class also boasts freshman Alex Smith and Vuc Laxarevak. Diebler also had a strong transfer portal class, adding former California guard Justin Pippen, former Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavić, former Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams, and former Memphis guard Curtis Givens III. Smith becomes the eighth new player to the roster that will look to build on last year’s NCAA Tournament appearance.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Five-star recruit will reclassify and join Ohio State in 2026
Reporting by Mark Russell, Buckeyes Wire / Buckeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Russell, Buckeyes Wire | USA TODAY Network
