JONESBORO, Ark. (5/7/25) – Arkansas State men’s basketball head coach Ryan Pannone announced Wednesday the signing of high school standout Royal Smith to the 2025-26 roster.

Originally hailing from Parkland, Fla., Smith joins the program from Gillion Academy in Virginia, where the combo guard has shined both at the prep and AAU level.

“Royal is a 6-4 freshman guard from the Gillian Academy, who is shifty, can break the paint and finish at the rim at a really high level,” Pannone said. “He is a good-handle, athletic guard who can shoot and make players around him better. He’s got the ability to play on the ball and off the ball. He’s a very talented passer, sees the court well and makes pretty quick decisions. Defensively, he has the size, wingspan, athleticism, and physicality to become really good. He’s someone that we thought when we had the opportunity to get him, that it was too hard to pass up on, and then who he is as a person really fits what we’re trying to build culturally here.”

At the AAU level, Smith plays for Team Breakdown and was named a Big Shots Prep Nationals Tournament (Rock Hill, S.C.) All-Star in the Platinum Postgrad division in March. He was the division’s second-leading scorer with a 23-point average and also recorded the top single-game performance with a 42-point outburst, a game in which he also tallied 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. In April, Smith was named an All-Star of the Big Shots 17U Slam

Smith chose the Scarlet and Black over interest from multiple high-major programs, including Florida State and Central Florida, as well as Dayton, Murray State, North Florida, and others.

He is now the eighth signing for Pannone’s first season leading the Red Wolves, joining Jalen Hampton (Missouri State transfer), Chandler Jackson (Florida State), Matt Hayman (Stephen F. Austin), TJ Caldwell (Ole Miss), Chudi Dioramma (Sacramento State), Christian Harmon (Gulf Coast State College) and Jaxon Ellingsworth (UT Arlington).

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