Jayden Quaintance officially signs with Kentucky: 'He is just scratching the surface.'

For the second time, Jayden Quaintance is officially a Wildcat.

In a press release sent out Friday by UK, the men’s basketball program announced the 6-foot-9 forward has signed to play for Kentucky. Quaintance spent his freshman season (2024-25) at Arizona State, averaging 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game before suffering a torn ACL in February.

“Jayden is a 17-year-old phenom who is as explosive as he is skilled, and he is just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become in this game,” Head coach Mark Pope said. “He’s an incredibly bright kid who is already postering anyone in Big Blue Nation in a game of chess and he and his family couldn’t be more excited to finally get to wear the Blue and White.”  

Quaintance, who expects to be healthy for Kentucky’s 2025-26 season-opener, joins a four-man transfer class that includes Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), and Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) as incoming Wildcats. All four have signed with Kentucky, a class that ranks second in the country.

#BBN, meet @qjayhoops!

📰🔗 – https://t.co/66UhDDPw4d pic.twitter.com/qhqrH5lV2c

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) April 11, 2025

Quaintance was once committed to the Wildcats as a high school recruit before John Calipari made the jump to Arkansas. But after one season out west, the former five-star recruit is coming back to Lexington. Quaintance, who doesn’t turn 18 until July, is considered the third-best prospect to enter the portal this offseason by On3 and is a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

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 game came on Feb. 23 against Kansas State when he dropped 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. He underwent successful surgery to repair his torn ACL in late March.

Quaintance reached double figures in scoring 11 times and recorded six double-doubles with the Sun Devils. He blocked at least one shot in 21 games and had four games of five or more blocks. The Cleveland native was one of 15 players named to the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Watch List in early February.

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