Ace Bailey injury update: Rutgers 5-star freshman to miss season opener, per report

Rutgers star freshman Ace Bailey will miss Wednesday’s season opener against Wagner due to an injury, according to Brian Fonseca of NJ Advance Media.

Bailey reportedly suffered the injury during practice this week and will miss tonight’s game out of precaution. The injury is not considered serious and he is “day to day.”

Bailey is part of a much anticipated freshmen duo with fellow five-star recruit Dylan Harper for the Scarlet Knights this season.

As a member of the Class of 2024, Bailey was a five-star-plus recruit out of Chattanooga (Tenn.) McEachern, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 2 small forward in the class and the No. 2 overall prospect in the class.

Bailey is the highest ranked recruit in the history of Rutgers basketball, which bodes well for Harper. The latter’s older brother, Ron Harper Jr. became a RU legend during his time “On The Banks.”

Both Bailey and Dylan Harper are considered NBA Lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft behind top prospect Cooper Flagg (Duke).

“I have it in the back of my mind to change the culture and the narrative and know you can win anywhere,” Harper said, via the New York Post. “It doesn’t have to be all these [same] schools. Me and Ace, coming in with the rest of our guys, we’re going to take the world by storm.”

With the two generational players that the school might not see again, Bailey knows him and Harper have the chance to be special and go down in school history.

“We aren’t worried about the outside noise,” Bailey said. “We know what we have and we’re trying to reach our goals: Focus on getting each other better, win the Big Ten and then win the whole thing.”

Rutgers will open up, without Bailey, at 6:00 p.m. ET Wednesday in Piscataway.