Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance commits to Kentucky

Jayden Quaintance is coming back to the Bluegrass.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony broke the news that Quaintance has committed to the Kentucky Wildcats. The 6-foot-10 forward (with a 7-foot-5 wingspan) spent his freshman season at Arizona State, averaging 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes per outing. He shot 52.5 percent from the field as a 17-year-old freshman in 2024-25.

Quaintance, who doesn’t turn 18 until July, was once committed to the Wildcats as a high school recruit before John Calipari made the jump to Arkansas. He wound up at Arizona State for a season, but Mark Pope made him a priority target once his name was in the portal. Nearly a full year to the day after he requested a release from his NLI with UK, Quaintance will finally make his way to Lexington.

Considered the 3rd-best prospect to enter his name into the portal this offseason, Quaintance is one of four incoming transfers thus far. The former five-star high school recruit joins Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), and Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) as future ‘Cats.

NEWS: ASU transfer Jayden Quaintance, a projected top-5 pick in 2026, has committed to Mark Pope and Kentucky, his father Haminn, told ESPN.

Quaintance decommitted from Kentucky precisely a year ago after John Calipari left for Arkansas.

STORY: https://t.co/BXza2vhqzX pic.twitter.com/woe1gvYD6T

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 8, 2025

Quaintance is coming off successful ACL surgery, which he underwent in late March, per Givony. A projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, he’s expected to be cleared for contact in September with hopes of being ready for the 2025-26 regular season in November.

Across 24 games played as a true freshman at Arizona State, Quaintance was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. His final outing pre-injury came on Feb. 23 against Kansas State when he dropped 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Quaintance reached double figures in scoring 11 times and recorded six double-doubles. He blocked at least one shot in 21 games and had four games of five or more blocks.

Kentucky Basketball 2025-26 Roster Tracker

COMMITS (4)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8

RETURNING / INCOMING (8)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9%
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT
• Travis Perry – PG – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG, 31.3% FG, 32.1% 3PT
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
• Acaden Lewis – PG – Incoming Freshman – Sidwell Friends (Washington DC)