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The top-ranked player in the Class of 2027. The best point guard in the country. One of the most unstoppable 5-foot-6 phenoms high school basketball has ever seen.
Those labels are all true, but at this point they're old news. After her junior campaign, it's time to refer to Kaleena Smith as the No. 1 player in high school basketball – period.
Smith is The Sporting News High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year for 2025-26 after averaging 31.5 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.5 steals per game to lead Ontario Christian to a 34-2 record and not only its first CIF Open Division state title but its first national title as well. She shot career-highs of 54% from the field and 89% from the free throw line in addition to making 138 three-pointers at a 38% clip.
Smith already came within striking distance of National POY honors as a sophomore when she averaged 23.2 points and a career-best 8.1 assists per game to lead Ontario Christian to a 30-2 record and its first CIF-SS Open Division title.
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As a junior, she took her ability to run a half-court offense and manage a game across four quarters to a new level all while improving both her scoring volume and efficiency at the same time. All while leading Ontario Christian to a similar record against an even harder schedule.
In 36 games in 2025-26, Smith scored 20 points 35 times, scored 25 points 31 times, and shot above 45% from the field in all but four contests. She was as consistent as it gets while regularly playing the best of the best.
Her most iconic performance of the season was probably her 50-piece against Archbishop Mitty in January to lead a double-digit comeback in the second half and win 96-87 in double overtime against another top-three team in the nation. Smith also totaled seven steals, six rebounds, and four assists against one of the nation's stingiest defenses in what proved to be a state finals preview.
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The following week on a trip to the East Coast, Smith was impeccable to guide Ontario Christian to a pair of single-digit wins over two more top-10 teams in the country in No. 5 St. John Vianney and No. 9 Long Island Lutheran. She erupted for 45 points, five assists, and three steals on 12-22 shooting to beat Vianney and held off Long Island Lutheran, which touted arguably the deepest collection of standout guards and wings in the country, with 26 points, five assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
Even in Ontario Christian's sole pair of losses, Smith was phenomenal and put her team in position to win. If Archbishop Mitty's defense wasn't the best in the country, No. 2 Bishop McNamara's was, and Smith scored 25 points on 10-19 shooting against Bishop McNamara before the Mustangs came back in the final minutes to hand Ontario Christian its only regular season loss. And with the lights at their brightest in the Southern Section finals, she dazzled with 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 50% shooting against an outstanding No. 7 Sierra Canyon defense despite falling 69-62.
Kaleena Smith's top performances
The performance that cemented Smith as our Player of the Year was one of her least statistically prolific but most contextually impressive – 24 points and five assists on 8-17 shooting to beat No. 3 Archbishop Mitty, which was at its best defensively, 56-49 for the Open Division state crown.
Smith's other top performances included:
- 43 points, nine assists, and five steals on 16-25 FG to open the season with a 100-49 trouncing of Nazareth.
- 51 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and six steals on 21-33 shooting in a 113-34 demolition of Esperanza.
- 36 points points, four assists, and four steals on 16-21 shooting in an 82-43 rout of No. 6 Incarnate Word Academy.
- 32 points and 15 assists in an 88-41 domination of Flintridge Prep.
- 34 points, 10 assists, and seven steals to blow out Lynwood 88-41.
- 28 points, 12 assists, and 11 steals as the Knights stomped Fairmont Prep 114-50 in the CIF-SS Open Division quarterfinals.
- 33 points, eight steals, and six assists shooting 12-19 to beat No. 15 Sage Hill 86-54 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals.
What's next for Kaleena Smith?
Assuming Ontario Christian stays healthy and keeps its core together this offseason, Smith and the Knights will enter 2026-27 as heavy favorites to repeat as NPOY and national champions, respectively.
Smith is already seventh in Southern Section history with 2,997 points and only needs 478 points to overtake the top spot, which coincidentally is held by Chloe Briggs – a rising senior on the Washington Huskies whose shoes Smith immediately stepped into upon starting at Ontario Christian in 2023. If Smith can score 1,304 points, she'll surpass Destiny Littleton as the leading scorer in California history. That would require her to score 36.2 points per game next season if Ontario Christian were to play 36 games again, and that might just be in reach.
Smith is also on pace to break California's all-time three-point field goals record of 500, as she currently sits at 409. And her mark of 714 career assists puts her just outside the state's top 25.
Any way you slice it, Smith has already proven herself as a relentless winner and one of the most statistically dominant stars high school basketball has seen in California and beyond. With an undefeated run through both section and state playoffs yet to be accomplished, Smith will have a chance in 2026-27 to cement off her high school basketball legacy by elevating Ontario Christian to the only heights that it hasn't already reached.
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