Richwoods’ Smith-Holley wins 2026 Clutch Sports Media Boys Basketball Player of the Year

It was apparent that Amarion Smith-Holley was going to be a legitimate star during his freshman year at Richwoods. 

During his sophomore season, Smith-Holley earned that status, as well as Clutch Sports Media’s 2026 Boys Basketball Player of the Year award by leading Richwoods to a 27-win season and a Class 4A sectional championship. 

Smith-Holley averaged 21.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game for the Knights, who won its first sectional title playing in Class 4A since the four-class system was introduced in 2007. He earned first team all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and the Illinois media. He was one of just four sophomores in the state to earn a spot on an IBCA all-state first team after earning a Class 3A third team all-state nod as a freshman. Smith-Holley was also a nominee for Illinois Mr. Basketball and a Clutch Sports Media First Team All-Area selection.

The Division I-bound guard, who earned first team all-Big 12 honors for the second straight season, was the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year. He led Richwoods to tournament titles at the Pekin Holiday Tournament and Rockford Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament, took home all-tournament team honors at both and was the MVP of the Pekin Holiday Tournament, where the Knights beat Chicago Mt. Carmel for the title.

Smith-Holley frequently showed out in big games, scoring 38 points against Chicago Crane, 31 points in the Knights’ 72-66 Class 4A Minooka Regional championship win over Rock Island and sinking three game-winning free throws in a 29-point outing against Normal Community in the sectional semifinals. He scored his 1,000th career point in his 50th high school game, a 75-55 win over Peoria Notre Dame on Jan. 30. Smith-Holley holds college offers from Illinois, Arizona State and Eastern Illinois.

Hear more about Smith-Holley’s season and career in our interview with him below. Some answers have been minimally edited for clarity.

What have you been able to reflect and look back on since the season has ended? 

“I reflected, just really thinking about what we could have did better in the moment but as well, I was really proud of my teammates,” Smith-Holley said. “Me personally, I didn't think that we were going to make it this far…well, nobody really thought that we would make it this far but just having that leader role with such a great team like that and everybody fighting with me, it was great. But next year, we’ve got to come in with a different mindset of just going into any game knowing that we're going to win.”

What do you think allowed Richwoods to exceed those expectations and go on that postseason run?

“With me, it was me just having a leadership role in the moments like that, just going down the stretch and keeping everybody together. [With] the free throws [with no time left to win the sectional semifinal game] just staying calm, cool and collected and just making sure my teammates can push to the next game, that was really my mindset.”

What inspired your love for basketball?

“I started playing at four years old, I lived in Indiana and was playing at the YMCA,” Smith-Holley said. “I had uncles that played basketball, my mom played high school basketball as well as my dad. Just seeing that growing up inspired me to play and in my household, we always just were competitive at anything we play at any game. That's what helped me want to play basketball more.”

What do you think was better or different about your play this year compared to your freshman year?

“I'll say my mindset and I have a different aspect on the game, like just helping do whatever it takes to win,” Smith-Holley said. “Maybe it might not be my scoring night or maybe I can't do this or I can't do that so just helping the team win in different aspects of the game, like that helped me.”

Was there a specific moment of the season that you think was really important?

“The last game that we played, just playing on a college court, it just really opened my eyes because I know I'm going to be there one day,” Smith-Holley said. “So just not taking a moment for granted, playing on courts like that in front of the crowd, just making it that far with my brothers, of course, that was a big game for me. That one really was more important to me than anything else.”

What’s a motto or mindset you take when you’re competing?

“I look at it like if you don't take everybody as how they take you, then you will lose,” Smith-Holley said. “It's a dog eat dog world so I look at that like me being a top recruit in the area, people are going to come at my head so [I’m] just carrying that chip on my shoulder and coming in every game and every little practice just keeping it in my head.”

Aside from winning, what was your favorite memory of the season? 

“I’d say just going into practice and being with the guys,” Smith-Holley said. “Sometimes before every game, we’d go to a friend’s house and eat and just bond, just having the moments laughing with each other, the bus rides and just coming in every day and making each other better. I'd say my favorite moments were like practice and stuff.”

As you receive more and more interest from colleges, what is something you’re looking for in your future school?

“I'd say, just going to a program that's going to let me be myself, just staying comfortable and going to a school that I feel comfortable at and if I see my future with them,” Smith-Holley said. “And the history behind how well they produce guards and players like me and just how well my game fits into their game. I feel like it’ll all come down to that.”