Story By DRUW GIAMALVA

The legend of Lani Smallwood grew on Thursday afternoon, as Smallwood was crowned 7A Player of the Year at the 2025 Player of the Year Banquet in Montgomery. The Mississippi State commit had a special junior season in her first season as an Albertville Lady Aggie, as she averaged 23 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Smallwood had a big impact on the Aggie defense as well, producing 111 steals.

Smallwood was also selected to the Super All-State Team, which features the top five players in the state regardless of classification. Other members of the team were Ace Austin of Spring Garden (Miss Basketball), Saniya Jackson of Park Crossing, Belle Hill of Mars Hill Bible and Shila Marks of Lauderdale County.

Smallwood’s impact on Albertville was felt quickly, as she led the Lady Aggies to what many believe is their greatest season ever. The Lady Aggies would finish with a 29-4 record, which broke the previous win record in a season for the Lady Aggies. Albertville would make the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight for the first time as a 7A school, and the Elite Eight appearance was their first since 1999.

Smallwood would also lead Albertville to a Marshall County Tournament championship and an Area 7 championship. Between her time at Susan Moore and Albertville, Smallwood surpassed 2,000 career points in February.

After finishing her junior year at Albertville, Smallwood is currently listed as the 43rd best player in the 2026 class according to 247 Sports. Smallwood is a four-star athlete and is listed as the fourth best combo guard in the nation and ranked as the best player in the state of Alabama for the 2026 class.