By: Ross Van De Griek
Five-star shooting guard LJ Smith, who is committed to Ohio State, announced on Monday that he intends to reclassify from the Class of 2027 to 2026. The move will give the Buckeyes a huge boost in their backcourt for the upcoming season.
Smith, A 6-foot-4 shooting guard, played his high school days at Lincolnton High School in North Carolina for two seasons before transferring to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his final high school season. He raised the national rankings, where he is the No. 25 overall ranked player, the No. 5 ranked combo guard, and the top-ranked player in the state of Virginia, according to 247Sports.
During his sophomore season with the Wolves, Smith broke the single-season record in the state of North Carolina by a sophomore for most points (960) in 29 games played, averaging 33.1 points per game. He also recorded the 4th-most points in a single season this past season, trailing Roxboro Community’s Darius McGhee (1,057 in 2015-2016), North Davidson’s Themus Fulks (1,055 in 2018-2019), and Eastern Alamance’s Jameson Curry (972 in 2002-2003), according to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) records.
Smith 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 during the 2025-2026 season. He led the team with 432 minutes played throughout the 14 games (30.8 minutes per game).
During this Grassroots season, Smith split time between Team Thad and Team Melo on the Nike EYBL Circuit, where he averaged 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He is hitting just over 41 percent from behind the arc.
Last Grassroots season, Smith played for Team Thad on the Nike EYBL Circuit, where he averaged 14.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 42% from three-point range.
Smith began playing on varsity as an eighth grader in North Carolina, 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.
With Smith now a part of the 2026 signing class, he joins five-star small forward Anthony Thompson, three-star transfer guards Curtis Givens III (Memphis), Jimmie Williams (Duquesne), four-star transfer power forward Andrija Jelavic (Kentucky), and four-star transfer combo guard Justin Pippen (California).
Coming into the 2026-2027 season, Ohio State has the 42nd-ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, which is the highest in the Jake Diebler era.
Ross Van De Griek has been a Southeast Region Scout for On The Radar Hoops since 2024 and has been the Owner/Founder of Southeast Hoops Report since June 2026. You can follow along with his work on X (@SEHoopsReport), Instagram (sehoopsreport), and Facebook (@sehoopsreport).
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