Payton Smith and his buddies were watching college basketball and NBA highlights one evening, and the conversation steered towards how many talented players grow up and reside in Cincinnati. Smith himself was one of those players. A Purcell-Marian alumnus, he was in the middle of his Wilmington College career when the beginnings of the Smith League formed.

"I started inviting local players who were home [in Cincinnati] to open gyms the summer going into my junior year," Smith recalled. "Those open gyms turned into players coming with unofficial teams, and then came the uniforms."

Soon after, the Smith League launched, with the first summer of play being in 2018. The field was just six teams back then. Only two teams wore matching shirts, and no one had full matching uniforms.

"I'd be lying to you if I didn't say the first year was a little rough, looking back at it now" said Smith, chuckling a bit. "Despite the hot gym, we still had around 100 people show up. I knew I was on to something."

Smith had big plans for year No. 2 of the league, but before that, he had to get through his junior year. Alongside his academic demands in the business administration area, Payton served as the Quakers' point guard on one of the more successful teams in recent memory. Leading WC in assists per game, Smith started all 25 games on a team that came a win away from the program's first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season title in program history.

After a heart-breaking defeat to Baldwin Wallace University at home in the OAC Tournament, Payton shifted his focus to finishing the spring term and the second year of his summer league.

"We improved things slightly in year two with a few more teams and a bigger venue," Smith said. "The competition level was good, but the majority of the individuals in the league were local guys."

After finishing out his collegiate playing career and graduating with a degree in business administration, Payton's namesake league achieved a breakthrough in the summer of 2020, the league's third season. The field grew to 16 teams, games took place at two different locations, and teams were all dressed in full uniforms. All of those things were great, but per Smith, it wasn't even the best part of year No. 3.

"Year three was the first year the league had some NCAA Division I players, and seeing those different talent levels compete was so cool," Smith recalled. "The local guys who had been part of the league before showed they could compete against scholarship-level competition."

That summer, along with the summer of 2021, saw the COVID-19 pandemic restrict a majority of activities including some operations of The Smith League. Payton, however, was determined to use the pandemic as a positive. He spent some free time connecting with more players, coaches and agents, which led to another breakthrough in the league's fifth season. The Smith League received certifications from the NBA as well as the NCAA, which allowed for more top-level scholarship players and professional players to compete in the league. Additionally, Smith was able to sign on with Nike.

"The talent level really increased, and the crowds did as well," said Smith. "What started as essentially a glorified open gym has grown into a product that over 1,700 watch weekly. It's really been incredible."

The fifth year of the Smith League was a dozen weeks long and featured names such as Jaxson Hayes and Darius Bazely. Interesting, the Most Valuable Player of the league in the summer of 2022 wasn't a professional player. It was Vonny Irvin, a graduate of Aiken High School who didn't go to college. For Payton, there's delicate balance to be had between the professional players and the local participants in The Smith League.

"People always overlook Cincinnati," he said. "The Smith League is always going to welcome local Cincinnati players to play."

The Smith League has grown at a tremendous rate, and Payton has big plans for year No. 6 this summer. He would not have been able to get the league to this point, however, if it wasn't for his experience as an NCAA Division III student-athlete.

"You have to work for everything at the NCAA Division III level," said Smith. "I don't think scholarship players understand what playing at NCAA Division III is like. We aren't on scholarship, most of us are not receiving any NIL [Name-Image-Likeness] money, but we still play high-level basketball, especially in the OAC."

In addition to being a former NCAA Division III student-athlete, Smith is also a young entrepreneur and a black man. Many young black basketball players from Cincinnati have come up to him, not knowing he owns the Smith League, and commented how awesome the league is.

"Many people are shocked when they realize I'm the one behind the entire league," said Smith. It feels great to show young people that look like me that you can make it and be a positive influence on our city."

The Smith League will be announcing its summer schedule in the coming weeks, and though it's named after Payton, the founder wants one thing to remain clear.

"The Smith League is not my league, it's Cincinnati's league," he said. "I've never forgotten where I come from. It doesn't run without the city of Cincinnati."