Smith High star Jyi Dawkins commits to Wofford after changing plans

Jyi Dawkins left Smith High as Guilford County’s all-time leading boys basketball scorer, and he left a recruiting surprise too. The 6-foot-3 senior guard committed to Wofford College on Monday after previously pledging to Western Carolina University, choosing a Southern Conference program in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the next step in a career that already rewrote local record books.

That change of plans matters in Guilford County because Dawkins was never just another scorer. He entered the playoffs ranked 11th on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s all-time scoring list, and his senior season production showed why college programs kept chasing him. MaxPreps lists him at 32.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 4.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game across 27 games, numbers that reflect a player who controlled every part of the floor at Smith.

His season ended in one of the most dramatic games in the area this winter. Smith lost to Kings Mountain, 69-68, on March 2 in the NCHSAA playoffs, a third-round defeat that sent Kings Mountain on to Charlotte Catholic. Even in defeat, the Golden Eagles had spent the year watching Dawkins carry a team that stayed relevant deep into March and gave Smith one of its most memorable postseason runs in recent memory.

The recruiting profile matched the production. Dawkins was listed by 247Sports as the No. 295 player nationally and the No. 47 shooting guard in the Class of 2026, with offers from Campbell University, UNC Greensboro, Cleveland State University, La Salle University and North Carolina A&T State University. Wofford, which finished 19-13 last season, won out after Dawkins’ earlier commitment to Western Carolina, underscoring how much late pressure surrounded one of North Carolina’s most productive guards.

Smith coach Derrick Partee said Dawkins’ effort lifted everyone around him, and that kind of standard helps explain why the local basketball pipeline keeps producing players who can move on to Division I opportunities. Dawkins was also selected for the Carolinas Classic all-star game, another sign that his impact stretched well beyond Guilford County. For Smith, for Greensboro, and for the next wave of young guards watching him, Dawkins’ path is a reminder that record-setting production can still lead to a bigger stage.