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The Sporting News is proud to announce that Jordan Smith Jr. of Paul VI in Chantilly, Virginia is our 2026 Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
This adds to a lengthy list of team and individual accolades from a truly historic season.
His Panthers were the champions of the mighty Washington Catholic Athletic Conference before going on to win the Division I state title in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. Then, earlier this week, they were crowned the national champions by MaxPreps.
Smith, meanwhile, picked up honors as the MaxPreps Player of the Year to go along with his earlier selection as the national Gatorade Player of the Year. Now, he can add one more title to that list of accomplishments.
SN ALL-AMERICA TEAMS: Boys | Girls
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound combo guard who can score at will (25.1 ppg), contributes in every facet of the game. That includes setting up his teammates on offense (5.3 assists per game) to rebounding (6.0 rebounds per game) and defense (3.0 steals per game).
It all led to the Panthers rolling up a 33-3 record with the only losses coming to the No. 8 Prolific Prep [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Crew, No. 18 Calvary Christian Academy [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Eagles, and the No. 1 CIA-Bella Vista [Phoenix, AZ] Bears who won The Sporting News High School Basketball National Championship.
Smith beat a talented group of first-team All-Americans to win SN's top individual honor, including the Class of 2026's No. 1 overall recruit, Tyran Stokes, of Rainier Beach in Seattle, Wash., who has yet to reveal his college destination. Stokes averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and four steals per game, albeit, against lower-rated competition than Smith regularly faced with Paul VI against WCAC competition.
MORE: Meet Kaleena Smith, SN's 2026 Girls Basketball National POY
The first team also includes future Duke Blue Devil Cameron Williams who put up 24.6 points, 12 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game for St. Mary's of Phoeniz, Ariz.
Smith, meanwhile, signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks where he'll play for the legendary John Calipari. The Hogs lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Arizona, and Smith is considered a key missing piece of the puzzle for Arkansas which has its sights set on winning a national title under Calipari's leadership.
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