Landon Smith signs with Bethel University for basketball

HOLCOMB, Mo. - Holcomb High School senior Landon Smith signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Bethel University.

According to Smith, after a lifelong journey of dedication to this sport, he is happy to finally see his dreams of playing in college come true.

The biggest thing for Smith was seeing all of his family and friends come out to witness his signing.

“I knew from the start that I had a lot of support,” Smith said. “Seeing everyone here at one time is crazy. It’s also crazy that I get to sign this piece of paper today and commit to playing college basketball.”

Smith’s journey started in Little League when he was only in the first grade.

He said it took a while for the sport to grow on him, but by the time he was in middle school and playing AAU with the Missouri Mavericks, he was in love. It was around this time Smith decided he wanted to take his game to the next level.

“I never knew I would get this opportunity,” Smith said. “It was always my dream. I just pushed myself and worked hard and now I have the chance to play another four years, which I am grateful for.”

Smith’s high school career started under the coaching of Michael Snider. After Snider departed from Holcomb to continue coaching at Twin Rivers, John Hixon took over the program and coached Smith through his junior and senior seasons.

Both Snider and Hixon came out to watch Smith’s signing and congratulate him on moving on to the next level.

“This is a big step for any high schooler,” Hixon said. “There’s a very small percentage of high school athletes that go on to play in college, so this is a pretty big deal. We are proud of him and we thank everyone who has supported him.”

Out of nearly eight million student-athletes across the U.S., only 3.6% will go on to compete collegiately for men’s basketball.

Smith found his breakthrough with Bethel University due to the persuasion of the Wildcat’s assistant coach Kyler Barnes.

Barnes is entering his second year with Bethel, but he started as a coach with the Missouri Mavericks where Smith played AAU.

“He [Barnes] texted me one day and said I should come to tour the campus and watch a basketball game,” Smith said. “I saw the campus, I met all the teammates and talked to all of them, I saw the court and the gym and everyone welcomed me with open arms. All the coaches and teammates were really nice to me. Seeing the competitiveness of playing in college and those other things made me want to commit right then and there.”

The Bethel Wildcats went 16-12 this past season. They made it to the Mid-South Conference Championship Quarterfinals before having their 2024-2025 campaign come to a close.

As they potentially are losing seven seniors, and without knowing the rest of their recruiting class, Smith will join a Wildcats roster of 11 players.

Smith said he is not expecting to make a huge impact as a senior, but he is excited to continue developing throughout the next four years.

“I’ll probably mainly play on their JV team,” Smith said. “I’ll probably suit up for varsity and maybe get a few minutes here and there, but they don’t expect a lot from a freshman on the varsity roster. Whether I am on JV or Varsity, I am going to give my all in every single game.”