Here's what you need to know about four-star class of 2026 Ohio State signee Alex Smith
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Ohio State is in the process of signing the second recruiting class of the Jake Diebler era, and it now includes four-star forward Alex Smith.
Smith signed on Nov. 12, the opening day of the early signing period for men’s college basketball. That window remains open for one week. After that, high school players must wait until April 15 to officially sign with a college.
In the early signing period, Ohio State has two players set to sign: Smith and five-star forward Anthony Thompson. The two are likely to be the only ones signing with Ohio State during the early period. Thompson is the first five-star commitment in more than a decade for the Buckeyes.
College coaches can’t publicly comment on recruits until they are signed, but Ohio State coach Jake Diebler spoke generally about the 2025 class earlier in the week.
“In general, without talking about anybody specific, I feel great,” he said Nov. 10. “I think this has the makings to be a great week for Ohio State basketball and look forward to talking about that stuff in a few days.”
It’s unclear if Ohio State will then add anyone else in its 2025 class other than Thompson and Smith.
Here’s what you need to know about the 6-foot-9, 195-pound Smith, who is from Upper Arlington but playing his senior year at Fort Lauderdale (Florida) Prolific Prep.
Where is Alex Smith ranked?
According to 247Sports.com, Smith is a four-star power forward ranked No. 139 nationally overall, No. 22 at his position and No. 22 in Florida.
ESPN ranks him as a four-star prospect, the No. 20 power forward in the country and the No. 5 player in Florida.
The 247Sports composite ranks him as the No. 145 national prospect, No. 25 power forward and No. 25 player in Florida.
When did Alex Smith commit to Ohio State?
The Buckeyes had been showing interest for some time, and after a strong performance with Upper Arlington at Ohio State’s 2024 team camp in early June, Smith was offered by Diebler almost as soon as coaches could call prospects in the 2026 class just after midnight on June 17, 2024.
An official visit to OSU was scheduled for the following Monday, and it was then that the Buckeyes offered Smith a scholarship, becoming the second Big Ten school to do so after Indiana.
Smith then took an unofficial visit to campus during the weekend of Sept. 2, 2024, and while there, he committed to the Buckeyes.
“Everything just kind of clicked,” Smith said at the time. “When I would think about recruiting, I would think about Ohio State. I realized this is where I wanted to play, so I saw no reason to wait.”
Where is Ohio State’s 2025 class ranked nationally?
At the start of the early signing period, Ohio State’s class with Thompson and Smith was ranked No. 31 nationally in the 247Sports composite. According to On3/Rivals, the class is ranked No. 6 nationally. ESPN has it 20th nationally.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State officially signs Alex Smith in 2026 recruiting class
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