NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing 5 main teams for Colgate transfer Braeden Smith
There are still some quality players still in the NCAA Basketball transfer portal. That includes a couple of former Conference Player of the Year winners. One of them in Braeden Smith, a 6'0 point guard from Seattle, Washington. He replaced former longtime PG Nelly Cummings to run the offense at Colgate, the heavyweight of the Patriot League.
Smith started all 70 games in the last two years, coming off averaging 12.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.6 apg, as well as nearly two steals a game. After leading the Raiders to 25 wins and another NCAA Tournament appearance, the sophomore earned Patriot League POY honors.
After the season, Smith entered the transfer portal. It's been a slower recruitment compared to other notable ball-handlers but reportedly, it's heating up again. The point guard has gone on a few visits and could be close to a decision soon.
Colgate transfer Braeden Smith --- the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year --- tells me that he visited Davidson over the weekend and also plans to visit Washington, Gonzaga, and Cal in the next week.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 13, 2024
A return to Colgate is also an option.
With five teams in the picture, here's a look at how he'd fit with each of them.
Cal Bears
New coach Mark Madsen has landed eight transfers from the portal in a complete rebuild. The "point guard" Cal landed so far is Christian Tucker, a 6'3 playmaker who averaged 11.3 ppg and 5.4 apg at UTSA in his lone year as a starter. He and incoming freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson are the ball-handlers on the roster as they move to the ACC.
Smith would likely get in the rotation and could start, though it's not a guarantee. He'd be able to go back out to the west coast but due to conference realignment, would have to play half of the games across the country. There's a lot unknown with the roster and the program overall at the moment.