Transfer Portal Bio Blast: Jayden Quaintance
Mark Pope continues to cook in the transfer portal.
On Tuesday morning, Pope landed a massive commitment from the third-ranked player in the portal as Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance will transfer to Kentucky. The Big Blue Nation likely remembers Quaintance well from his high school recruitment. Former head coach John Calipari initially landed the 6-foot-10 forward with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, but when Calipari jumped ship to Arkansas, Quaintance made the move to the Sun Devils.
Quaintance joins a Kentucky portal class that also includes Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), and Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama). Here’s everything you need to know about Pope’s latest addition to the 2025-26 roster.
[KSR’s Kentucky MBB Transfer Portal Tracker]
From Kentucky to Arizona State
Let’s go all the way back for a second. It was Nov. 2023 when Quaintance committed to Calipari and Kentucky, the caveat being he would have to play at least two seasons of college basketball because of how young he was. Rated as the 4th-best prospect from the 2024 recruiting class, he chose UK over the likes of Missouri, Florida, Ohio State, and the now-defunct G League Ignite (which was coached by current UK assistant Jason Hart).
At the time, he was viewed as the prize recruit for Calipari and the ‘Cats. Playing in the Overtime Elite league with the Holy Rams as a high school junior, Quaintance averaged an impressive 15.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 32.5 minutes per contest.
Named to the 2023 Men’s U16 National Team, he also helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship, averaging 6.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in 18.7 minutes per game. The native of Cleveland, OH was a standout at the 2023 NBPA Top 100 Camp, averaging 13.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks while shooting 64.9% from the field.
But none of that mattered to the BBN once Calipari took the Arkansas job on April 10, 2024. The very same day, Quaintance requested a release from his Kentucky NLI. Pope did try to re-recruit him to Lexington, but too many unknown factors ultimately led him out west. Less than three weeks later, he was signed with Arizona State.
Successful knee surgery after a productive season
Now 17 years old as a true freshman, Quaintance certainly didn’t look out of place with the Sun Devils. Across 24 games played, all as a starter, he averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes per outing. His outside shooting needs some work (18.8 percent on 1.3 attempts per outing) but he was efficient elsewhere, shooting 60 percent on his two-pointers.
Quaintance was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and the Big 12 All-Freshman Team despite Arizona State finishing 13-20. 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 with five or more blocks.
But a torn ACL would end his season early. He did not play again after that Kansas State game. Quiantance went through successful ACL surgery, which he underwent in late March, per ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony. He’s expected to be cleared for contact in September with hopes of being ready for the 2025-26 regular season in November. Givony considers Quiantance, who doesn’t turn 18 until July, to be a top-five pick candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft.
Advanced Stat Profile: Jayden Quaintance
Quaintance came into high-major Division I basketball as a 17-year-old and made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor. He has National Defensive Player of the Year upside right now with his 6-foot-10, 225-pound frame. His rebounding skills are already among the best in the country. Quaintance is not someone who needs the ball in his hands to make plays.
StatFinishRankingBlock %9.819th nationallyOffensive Rebounding %11.8117th nationallyDefensive Rebounding %18.4348th nationally2-Point %60.0242nd nationally“At the rim” shooting %69.9N/A
Quaintance is quick and agile for someone his size. He wants to run the floor in search of easy buckets or lob finishes. His handle is steady enough to take other bigs off the dribble where he can work his way into the paint. He also has a natural feel as a passer, which should show up even more in the Mark Pope offense.
The obvious weakness for him is the shooting. He was 6-32 from deep on the season and 34-71 (47.9 percent) from the free throw line. His release is a bit slow and his feet don’t leave the hardwood, but he makes up for that by being a force around the rim.
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