Arizona tapped into the Bay Area market for its latest commit of the 2026 recruiting class.
The Wildcats landed three-star running back Brandon Smith on Sunday. Smith committed to the Wildcats on Instagram Live Sunday afternoon and pledged to Arizona over the hometown Cal Golden Bears.
Before revealing his commitment to Arizona, he briefly picked up a Cal hat before donning an Arizona cap and his white UA T-shirt.
Smith, who is projected to play running back at Arizona, took an official visit to the UA earlier this month.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Smith, a senior at Central East High School in Fresno, California, also held offers from Boise State, Utah and San Diego State, among others. Smith is rated by 247Sports.com as the 24th-best running back nationally and the No. 41 overall prospect in California for 2026.
Smith was named a third-team All-California selection by MaxPreps.com last season after rushing for 1,871 yards and 25 touchdowns and recording 71 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back. Smith has 2,661 yards and 34 touchdowns in his high school career.
Three-star running back and defensive back Brandon Smith is joining the Arizona Wildcats in 2026. The Fresno, California native chose the Wildcats over the Cal Golden Bears.
Smith is a multi-sport athlete and also runs track at Central East. As a junior, Smith anchored Central Eastβs 4x400 meter relay team that finished second at the California state championships with a 3:09.24 time.
Smith is the first running back in Arizonaβs 2026 recruiting class and the third overall prospect from the Bay Area, along with offensive lineman Michael Langi and wide receiver R.J. Mosley.
Smith joins an Arizona running backs room that could conceivably return redshirt sophomore Kedrick Reescano, redshirt sophomore and Utah transfer Mike Mitchell (who is missing this season with a leg injury), junior and Portland State transfer Quincy Craig and freshmen Cornelius Warren III and Wesley Yarbrough in 2026.
With the addition of Smith, Arizona now has 16 commits for its 2026 recruiting class. Smith is the second commit in three days, joining four-star quarterback Oscar Rios, who committed to Arizona over UCLA on Friday.
