Upper Arlington's Alex Smith earns Ohio State scholarship offer

Alex Smith didn’t stay up to see which coaches would call him first. When the calendar flipped to Saturday and college coaches could start calling prospects in the 2026 class, the Upper Arlington wing/forward was asleep.

“I went to bed,” Smith said. “I would’ve loved to stay up, and I would’ve loved to see who reaches out, but I can always go to bed and check later. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good look to stay up that late.”

When he woke up Saturday morning, it was easy enough to see which coaches had called him and when. The first call that came through landed at 12:03 am, and it was from first-year Ohio State coach Jake Diebler.

It wouldn’t just be Diebler reaching out from Ohio State, either. Three other coaches contacted him, Smith said, and a Monday visit was quickly set for the 6-9, 195-pound Ohioan to come check out the Buckeyes. There, seated inside Diebler’s office flanked by his parents, Smith landed a scholarship offer from Ohio State.

“He went through all the accolades of the program, and it really showed what Buckeye basketball is and what he wants to get back to,” Smith said. “He played a little video that was pretty cool, and then that’s when he told me. It doesn’t feel real in that moment. You almost get chills.”

Smith said he wasn’t convinced that a scholarship offer was forthcoming from the Buckeyes, but he knew there was a chance, especially after a strong performance at Ohio State’s team camp during the first week of June. When the offer finally came, that made the experience all the more rewarding, he said.

Ohio State is the second Big Ten school to offer. Indiana, which hosted him for a game last season, offered him in late February.

“I think it definitely helps my stock, but more than that it helps my confidence that these high-major programs are taking a chance on me and really trusting that work ethic and how I will fit into their program,” he said. “That just shows you that the coaches really trust you.”

Smith also held offers from Ohio, Toledo and Bryant leading into the weekend. Kent State also has now offered, and he has a Cincinnati visit scheduled, but otherwise Smith said he’s “living in the moment right now” as far as how his summer could progress.

“This was the one I was really looking forward to,” he said of the Ohio State offer. “June 15 hit and we figured out a date and I was like, ‘Can we skip these next two days and get to Monday?’ ”

While on his visit, Smith said he got to watch a host of former Buckeyes work out at the Jerome Schottenstein Center as part of the program’s annual “Vet Week” and enjoyed getting to meet Jae’Sean Tate.

“It was pretty cool to see the dudes who I grew up watching and the dudes who made it far in the (NBA) and overseas and the G League, it’s great to see those familiar faces that I watched on the TV in person,” he said. “A few of them said hi to me, and I was a little starstruck. It was, like, my heroes.”

Smith said he’s not planning to drag his recruitment out too long, but the transfer portal’s impact on prep recruiting will factor into the timing of his decision. Ohio State has a commitment from five-star guard Marcus Johnson from Garfield Heights, Ohio, and Johnson committed during the spring in part to make sure there would be a space for him in the plans as the coaching staff adds pieces each year via the portal .

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Last Monday, Diebler told reporters that while the Buckeyes will continue to use both traditional and transfer recruiting to build their roster, the days of a four- or five-player freshman class are going to be rare.

“The transfer portal does shake up some stuff,” Smith said. “Marcus Johnson had a lot of places to choose from, and my stock is kind of just rising. I definitely want to drag it out a little bit, but not too long. I’m probably going to make a decision probably next year, before senior year.”

Relationships will be key for when he does pick a school.

“I don’t want to commit to a school where the coach will rarely ever talk to me,” Smith said. “I want to feel like I’m part of the team, one of the guys. The biggest thing is the relationship: who keeps reaching out to me, who keeps talking to me, who goes out of their way to talk to me. That’s really a big thing for me.”

Smith is unranked in the 247Sports.com rankings. PrepHoops.com lists him as the No. 4 Ohioan in the 2026 class.

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Upper Arlington’s Alex Smith earns Ohio State scholarship offer

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