Over the weekend, one of the top remaining big men in the Midwest’s 2024 class announced his college commitment. 6’11” Jaden Smith of Kenwood Academy in Chicago and the Mac Irvin Fire program chose Arizona State from his five finalists. 

The senior center picked the Sun Devils over the other finalist of Dayton, DePaul, Fordham, and Loyola Chicago. He had also received offers from Akron, Cal Poly, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Illinois State, Loyola Maryland, McNeese State, St. Louis, TCU, UIC, Wyoming, and others. 

The commitment comes after Smith had just taken his visit to the future Big 12 school earlier this month. When asked about his visit out west, he said “The visit was fun, great experience. I really enjoyed my time there and getting to know the players and coaches.”

Smith does have a connection to the Arizona State coaching staff with former Mac Irvin Fire coach Nick Irvin on their staff as an assistant coach. While he said having Irvin there was a part of his decision, he did say it “came down to what I wanted and my liking in the school.” The main factors in his decision in choosing Arizona State were Coach Hurley and the rest of the coaching staff as well as their style of play.

Smith marks the first commitment in the Sun Devils 2024 recruiting class. He is a high upside center with great physical tools. In addition to standing at 6’11” he has great length plus is very mobile at his size. He makes his biggest impact with his shot blocking and rebounding ability but also brings a growing offensive game with his rim running, as a lob threat, and developing jump shot.