Malachi Smith enters transfer portal after four seasons with Dayton Flyers

Dayton Flyers point guard Malachi Smith entered the transfer portal on Monday, according to a source.

Smith’s decision was not unexpected because he participated in the Senior Day ceremony at UD Arena in March. That is sometimes an indication that a player will explore his options in the transfer portal. Smith will graduate from Dayton this spring.

Smith was asked after the Senior Day victory against Richmond on March 1 about his plans.

“I really haven’t been thinking too much about it,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on the season, trying to finish it out and trying to get some wins in March.”

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday for college basketball players, though many had declared their intentions to enter the portal in the days and weeks leading up to Monday. There will be a 30-day window this year for players to make their decisions on whether to enter the portal.

Smith, a 6-foot guard from Bronx, N.Y., is the first Flyer to enter the portal this year. He spent four seasons at Dayton but has one season of eligibility remaining because he missed the 2023-24 season after suffering a knee injury in the first half of the season opener.

Smith spent four seasons at Dayton. He has one season of eligibility remaining because he missed the 2023-24 season after suffering a knee injury in the first half of the season opener.

Smith’s dad, Elliot Rosado, shared photos of Smith on Monday on X (Twitter) and wrote, “When your son is hundreds of miles away, you’re always worried. When Mali was dealing with his injuries, the Dayton community made sure he was good physically as well as mentally. Hugs, smiles, encouragement. We can never repay you for that. Thank you for taking care of our boy.”

Smith averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 assists in 86 games in his Dayton career. He averaged a career-best 10.4 points per game this season and started 31 of 33 games.

Credit: David Jablonski

Smith played a part in a number of memorable plays in his career:

• As a freshman in November 2021, he had a shot blocked in the final seconds by Kansas. Mustapha Amzil grabbed the rebound and scored at the buzzer to give Dayton an upset of the No. 4 Jayhawks in the ESPN Events Invitational. Smith was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

• Later that season, Smith threw an alley-oop pass to R.J. Blakney on an in-bounds play. Blakney dunked with 1.2 seconds remaining to give Dayton a 55-53 victory.

• This past season, Smith’s go-ahead 3-point play against UNLV in December helped Dayton beat UNLV at UD Arena.

• Then in January, Smith threw an approximately 55-foot pass from past halfcourt to Amaël L’Etang, who caught the ball at the rim and laid it in with 0.2 seconds to play in overtime, giving Dayton an 83-81 victory against Loyola Chicago at UD Arena.

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Smith did not miss a game with injury this season after suffering injuries in his first three seasons. Prior to the knee injury that cost him his junior season, he battled ankle injuries throughout his first two seasons.

Smith injured his left ankle in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament as a freshman in 2022. He hurt the right ankle in practice in October 2023 After missing the first four games of the 2023-24 season, he played in four games but sprained his left ankle in the final moments of the second half on Nov. 25 during a 79-75 overtime loss to Brigham Young in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Smith missed 11 games but returned to play in 15 of the final 16 games. He injured the left ankle once more in a game against St. Bonaventure but missed only one game. Although he made it through the season, he was in pain the whole way.

Smith underwent one ankle reconstruction surgery in April 2024 and another 10 weeks later in May.

Smith, who committed to Dayton in August 2020, was the first member of Dayton’s 2021 recruiting class, which also included DaRon Holmes II, Lynn Greer III and Kaleb Washington. It was the highest-ranked Dayton recruiting class in this century.

Smtih is the younger brother of Scoochie Smith, who entered the UD Hall of Fame in December after four standout seasons at Dayton (2014-17).

Smith is the 19th player recruited and signed by Anthony Grant and his staff to enter the transfer portal. Here’s the list of those players, the dates they entered the portal and where they ended up:

• Frankie Policelli, April 10, 2018 (Stony Brook/College of Charleston).

• Jhery Matos, March 30, 2018 (Charlotte).

• Luke Frazier, March 22, 2021 (Ohio/John Carroll)

• Dwayne Cohill, April 16, 2021 (Youngstown State)

• Rodney Chatman, March 23, 2021 (Vanderbilt).

• Lynn Greer III, Dec. 27, 2021 (Saint Joseph’s/Temple).

• Moulaye Sissoko, March 23, 2022 (North Texas)

•. Elijah Weaver, March 29, 2022 (Chicago State).

• Tyrone Baker, Dec. 19, 2022 (Florida SouthWestern State College).

• Kaleb Washington, Dec. 20, 2022 (Butler Community College/Florida A&M).

• Mustapha Amzil, March 21, 2023 (New Mexico).

• R.J. Blakney, March 22, 2023 (Old Dominion).