New Mexico interested in Division 2 All-American guard

Jeremy Dent-Smith took home CCAA Player of the Year honors

New Mexico head coach Eric Olen. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

According to a tweet from 247Sports National Basketball Analyst Travis Branham, New Mexico is among the teams in the mix for transfer guard Jeremy Dent-Smith.

A 6-foot-1 guard with one season of eligibility remaining, Dent-Smith has played three seasons for Division 2 Cal State Dominguez Hills. According to Branham, Dent-Smith recently completed visits to Stanford and Montana, with additional visits to UC Santa Barbara and Wichita State set for the upcoming days. In addition to the schools on the visit list, Branham reports that New Mexico, New Mexico State, St. Mary’s and Iona are also in pursuit of Dent-Smith.

Dent-Smith played in 26 games for the Toros as a true freshman before breaking out as a sophomore. He took home CCAA Player of the Year honors in addition to being named a 1st team All-American by NABC. Dent-Smith averaged 18 points, four rebounds and three assists per game, helping the Toros to a 22-8 record and a 17-5 finish in the CCAA. In a win at Cal Poly Pomona, he had 41 points and knocked down a school record nine three-pointers.

Dent-Smith continued his trajectory this past season, averaging 19 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. Dent-Smith hit the 30-point mark five times this season, including going for a season high 33 points in a national semifinal victory against Dallas Baptist. The Toros made their way to the Division 2 National Championship game, falling to Nova Southeastern 74-73. Dent-Smith had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the title game, knocking down nine of his 16 shots.

A native of Hawthorne, California who played at Serra High School in Gardena, Dent-Smith earned All-American honors for the second straight season. He’s the only player in school history to be named an All-American and hit the 20-point mark in 12 of 22 conference games.

New Mexico head coach Eric Olen and staff have reassembled a new look roster over the past month, adding 10 commitments so far. The Lobos signed high school recruits Jake Hall and Uriah Tenette in addition to junior college standout Antonio Chol. They’ve had lots of success in the transfer portal, adding seven names to date. Those players include Deyton Albury (Utah State), Luke Haupt (Point Loma Nazarene), JT Rock (Iowa State), Chris Howell (UC San Diego), Milos Vincentic (UC San Diego), Kevin Patton (USC) and Kallai Patton (USC).