The Duke basketball program is already off to a hot start on the recruiting trail for its 2026 targets and the hope is that this is only the beginning for the Blue Devils.
After landing 4-star center Maxime Meyer, 5-star forward Bryson Howard, and 5-star forward Cameron Williams, Jon Scheyer’s squad is also a finalist for 4-star guard Deron Rippey and remains a heavy contender for Jordan Smith Jr.
Smith Jr. has been a major target for the Blue Devils since his freshman year of high school at Paul VI (Va.) and the ties his school has to Duke are too big to ignore.
Recently, the program has landed players like Jeremy Roach, Trevor Keels, Darren Harris, and Pat Ngongba from the school and Keels is very confident that Smith Jr. will add to the pipeline.
“Smitty a lock,” he posted on X shortly after the Blue Devils landed Cameron Williams last week.
Smitty a lock
— Keel Mode (@TrevorKeels) November 14, 2025
Jordan Smith Jr. is listed as the No. 2 player in the Class of 2026, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, only trailing Tyran Stokes.
His lone Crystal Ball prediction is to the Blue Devils at the moment.
247Sports lists Duke with the No. 4 recruiting class and if it continues to add players it will easily rise to the top class in the country.
The Blue Devils are coming off back-to-back seasons in which they finished with the No. 1 recruiting class, headlined by Cooper Flagg and Cameron Boozer, and has been ranked with the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class in the country since 2021.
There is no timetable for Jordan Smith Jr. to announce his college commitment but it is very likely that he will sign his National Letter of Intent during the late signing period after no news emerged during the early signing period.