Who Is Kaleena Smith? Stats, Player Profile, and More About Adidas Basketball’s First HS Women’s NIL Signing

Ever heard of a high schooler signing a shoe deal with Adidas? No? Meet Kaleena Smith, a sophomore at Ontario Christian High School who did just that while defying all odds. A 5’6″ guard, Kaleena, is also the smallest to ever be ranked as no 1 in the ESPN rankings in 20 years.

If she keeps on this trajectory, well let’s just say Candace Parker might have got the best upcoming star in the Women’s Basketball to sign a contract with Adidas.

Uplifting women’s sports the “Special K” way

The deal might be a game changer for her and women’s basketball as women’s high school athletes rarely see such big partnerships at such a young age. According to on3.com, she is currently ranked as the #3 high school women’s basketball athlete. In fact, at just 16 years old, she has built a following of 85,000 fans. 98% of them come from Instagram, where her username, @special.kayyy11, has become synonymous with a special brand of talent.

Statistically, Smith is also a standout, with her performance on the court making her one of the most versatile and skilled guards in high school basketball. In the 2023-24 season, according to maxpreps.com, she averaged 34.9 points per game across 33 games, setting her apart not just by numbers but by impact.

She did all this as a freshman. In the 17U EYBL circuit, she left coaches agape while playing for the Team Taurasi circuit, further showcasing her leadership and skill. In fact, in just one summer, she recorded 183 assists to 52 turnovers, which speaks volumes about her talent of being a small guard gifted with good court vision.

That is not all. As of November 2024, Special K is ranked as ESPN’s no. 1 player in the Class of 2027, with a 97 rating. This, along with her performance on the EYBL circuit, has led Kaleena to come into the corsairs of multiple college scouts, with offers from powerhouse programs such as Geno Auriemma’s UConn, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina, Kim Mulkey’s LSU, and Cori Close’s UCLA among 26 more.

In addition to her role at Ontario Christian High School, she’s also a member of the 2024 USA Women’s U17 National Team and was named the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year for 2023-24, honors that solidify her as one of the most exciting young players in the sport.

Although her stature, though smaller than most top recruits, has only driven her to work harder, using her height as motivation rather than a disadvantage. “I’m just trying to prove people wrong. A lot of people see my height and say, ‘Oh, she’s too small, she won’t make it to college. She already hit her ceiling.’ So really just having that mindset around proving people wrong, whether it’s scoring or getting [my teammates] involved, I feel like I’m different from everyone else,” Smith shared in an interview with The Next.

“Special K”: The origins of Kaleena Smith’s nickname

Well, believe it or not, Smith was already in the national spotlight when she was 8 years old. Growing up in Perris, California, she went viral as a “basketball prodigy,” when her early skills were highlighted in an article by USA Today that called her a rising talent in the sport.

However, Kaleena only became “Special K” when she started primarily playing in boys’ leagues. A name given by her family and former coach that stuck with her as she made her way through the ranks of youth basketball. “When I was younger, I mostly played against boys until I reached high school,” Smith said. “People would call me ‘Special,’ and my nickname was ‘K,’ so my family and my old coach put it together.”

In a documentary by the YouTube channel, “Rise Above Film,” her mother, Brandie Smith, recalled how the nickname reflected her ability to compete against boys, something that astounded many who watched her. “Her nickname came from her playing with boys, Special K, because everyone, every time she played, was, she’s so special,” her mother shared. “How is a girl out here dominating on the boys’ side?”

Her stepfather Aundre Cummings also weighed in, pointing out how perfectly the nickname aligned with her actual name. “Special K. I love it. I think that it’s unique,” he said. “The fact that her name is Kaleena and Special K was already kind of like invented by the cereal. It just made sense. I do feel like her uniqueness was established on the boys’ side.”

Smith’s early start came with high expectations, but she’s handled the pressure with the poise of a seasoned player. Her first Division I offer came from California Baptist University when she was just 11 or 12 years old after attending a camp, and she has only continued to grow in both skill and ambition since then.

Beyond her stats, Smith’s partnership with Adidas aligns her with a growing roster of influential women in basketball, including Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Aliyah Boston, Nneka Ogwumike, and Betnijah Laney.

She joins a sisterhood of athletes united in pushing the women’s game forward, a mission Candace Parker the current president of Adidas Women’s Basketball highlighted as a crucial moment for women’s sports “Signing Kaleena as our first high school NIL women’s basketball athlete is a pivotal moment for us as we lead in championing women’s sports and building greater access to and representation in the game that we all love.”

As Kaleena comes of age, all that’s left is for her to continue proving people wrong on the basketball court. And if all goes right, Adidas might just have just got themselves the next big star of the WNBA.