Kaleena Smith reportedly has scheduled visits with 11 schools around the country. UConn is one of them.
When it comes to getting a commitment from the No. 1 high school girls’ basketball prospect in the nation, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma usually is right in the mix.
Consider this: in the 16 seasons from 2010-25, UConn gained the commitment of half – eight – of the top-ranked players on ESPN’s Top 100 player list. And that successful stretch began after Auriemma brought in two of the No. 1 players just a few years before: Tina Charles (2006) and Maya Moore (2007).
And there likely will be more number ones in the future of UConn women's basketball.
Auriemma has a test ahead of him for the 2027 No. 1 prospect, 5-foot-6 point guard Kaleena Smith from Ontario Christian High School, near Los Angeles.
She is set to visit 11 schools, with a full calendar until almost Thanksgiving, reported Dushawn London, a national basketball recruiting analyst for CBS Sports and 247Sports.
She’s saving UConn for second-to-last, with a scheduled visit to Storrs on Nov. 6, London said.
Smith’s lineup
Smith will be zig-zagging across the country to check out schools, beginning with Washington on July 31. After that, the other 10 scheduled visits will happen over a 12-weekend span.
July 31: Washington
Aug. 28: Baylor
Sept. 4:
Oklahoma
Sept. 11:
Georgia
Sept. 25:
Tennessee
Oct. 9: Arizona
State
Oct. 16: Miami
Oct. 23: Southern
California
Oct. 30: UCLA
Nov. 6: UConn
Nov. 13: Texas A&M
Smith’s stats
According to statistics from MaxPreps, Smith has appeared in 100 games over three varsity high school seasons.
She has career averages of 30.0 points, 7.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 4.4 steals per game. At Ontario Christian in 2025-26, she averaged 31.5 points, 6.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
She is the reigning two-time Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Olivia Vukosa, a freshman at UConn, won the national Gatorade award last season. Smith was one of three finalists.
This summer, Smith won a gold medal at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup with the USA U18 national team.
In five games, she led the squad with 19.8 points and added 6.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds. She was named to the tournament’s All Star Five.
What will Smith be looking for?
What Smith wants in a school and a basketball program isn’t clear given the variety of the visit list.
Does she crave the competitiveness of the Southeastern Conference? Does she want to stay within 100 miles ot so of her hometown of Perris, Calif.?
Does she love the Big Ten but doesn’t want to live in its traditional footprint?
Is a WNBA career on her radar?
Or maybe she wants to win another national championship.
Ontario Christian finished 34-2 in the 2025-26 season and was named the No. 1 team in the final MaxPreps Top 25 high school girls basketball rankings. Smith and her teammates were named the MaxPreps national champions.
If she is chasing a championship, the past two NCAA Tournament winners are on the list – UCLA in 2026, UConn in 2025.
The UConn No. 1s
So just who were the No. 1 high school girls basketball players to wind up at UConn since 2010? They were:
2024: Sarah
Strong
2021: Azzi Fudd
2020: Paige
Bueckers
2018: Christyn
Williams
2017: Megan
Walker
2015: Katie Lou
Samuelson
2012: Breanna
Stewart
2011: Kaleena
Mosqueda-Lewis
Quite an impressive group.
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