2026 Trinity SG Jayden Johnson planning to visit Kentucky in the fall
Jayden Johnson is one of the best high school basketball players in the Bluegrass State. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is interested.
Johnson, a native of Bowling Green who now plays for Trinity High School in Louisville, is planning to visit UK for Big Blue Madness, he tells KSR. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is rated No. 49 overall in the 2026 class by the On3 Industry Ranking. Johnson also has plans to visit the likes of Louisville, Southern California, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech this fall, as first reported by HS Top Recruits.
Kentucky has yet to extend Johnson an offer, but he’s been hearing more and more from the staff this summer. Assistant coach Cody Fueger has been in contact with Johnson.
Johnson has announced offers from Missouri, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Xavier, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Arizona State, and Southern California. He’s taken a couple of unofficial visits so far in 2024 to Indiana and Auburn. There is still a long way to go before he goes into decision-making mode.
In fact, he told KSR last month that a commitment would likely happen during the “spring of my junior year or that summer”. That’s still somewhat early in the process compared to when most ranked recruits commit, but it allows plenty of time for Kentucky to make its pitch, evaluate him during his junior season, and get him on campus for face-to-face visits.
Johnson, who claims a 7-foot wingspan, suited up earlier this year for Mokan Elite 16U on the Nike EYBL circuit. In 13 pre-Peach Jam games, he averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest. During his five Peach Jam games, he averaged 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per outing. Going into his junior season with Trinity, he’ll be leaned on as one of the Shamrocks’ go-to players.
Here’s what KSR’s Brandon Ramsey had to say about Johnson’s skillset after watching him perform at Peach Jam last month.
“Johnson is a big, strong wing that fits the mold physically of several of the top targets on Coach Pope’s recruiting list. He has the positional size to create matchup issues on the perimeter. The Bowling Green native can create off of the dribble against bigger defenders or punisher smaller opponents around the basket. Overall, the offensive skill level is a work in progress. His jump shot will need to get more consistent and some of what he gets done off the bounce has more to do with his size and strength than pure skill. However, you can’t teach the physical tools and what he possesses in terms of defensive upside. Definitely an in-state target worth monitoring.”
Johnson visited Kentucky before under the former coaching staff and even stopped at Rupp Arena last year for the 2023 edition of Big Blue Madness. As the program has shifted to Pope, the in-state recruit continues to be on the Big Board.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard