Purdue's Braden Smith Becomes College Basketball's All-Time Assist Leader

ST. LOUIS — Braden Smith has made college basketball history. Purdue's senior guard is now the NCAA's all-time assist leader, breaking Bobby Hurley's record early in the first half of Friday's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Queens.

Smith entered Friday night's game needing just two assists (1,075) to break the record. He got within striking distance of Hurley's record, which stood at 1,076 assists, after a brilliant run in the Big Ten Tournament. The senior dished out 46 assists in Chicago, averaging 11.5 per game.

CONGRATS TO BRADEN SMITH 👏#MarchMadness https://t.co/QOD4ei9qTY pic.twitter.com/mX8sx2kIPC
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026

While in Chicago, Smith broke a Big Ten Tournament single-game record by accounting for 16 assists in a third-round win over Northwestern. He then had 10 assists vs. Northwestern, nine against UCLA and dished out 11 in the win over Michigan in the Championship Game.

Smith entered his senior season needing 319 assists to break Hurley's record. At one time, it appeared that the Purdue guard may not have enough time to accomplish the feat, but the Boilermakers' run in the Big Ten Tournament made it possible.

He is averaging 9.1 assists this season, which ranks second nationally.

Last season, Smith broke Purdue's program assist record, passing Bruce Parkinson, who had owned the record for nearly 50 years. Earlier this year, he also became the Big Ten's all-time assist leader, an achievement previously owned by Michigan State's Cassius Winston.

Hurley set the NCAA assist record while playing at Duke from 1989 through 1993. His record stood for more than 30 years. Now, it belongs to Smith.

Smith had another 300-plus assists this season

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) celebrates a referee call. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

How did Smith put himself in a position to break such an unreachable record? The sophomore has put together three impressive seasons distributing the basketball. During Purdue's run to the National Championship Game, he racked up 292 assists, just eight short of the 300 milestone.

Last season, he accounted for 313 assists on his way to breaking Purdue's program record. This year, he exceeded the 300-assist milestone again, putting him in a position to break the record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It's just the latest in a laundry list of accomplishments for Purdue's All-American guard.

Smith is a three-time All-Big Ten first team selection, a former Big Ten Player of the Year (2025), and the winner of the Bob Cousy Award (2025). He was also named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the Boilers to four wins in four days to claim the title.

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