Former Arizona State star Jayden Quaintance, a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, committed to Mark Pope and Kentucky on Tuesday, 247Sports’ Eric Bossi confirms. Quaintance was the No. 6 overall transfer available in the 247Sports rankings and is perhaps the best NBA Draft prospect ever to enter the transfer portal.
Quaintance underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee on March 19 and is expected to be cleared for contact in September.
A former Kentucky signee, Quaintance originally signed to play for John Calipari at the school but backed off that pledge after the former UK coach took the vacant job at Arkansas last offseason. The former No. 9 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle by 247Sports committed shortly after to Arizona State and became the highest-ranked recruit in its program’s history.
Quaintance won’t turn 18 until July, which makes him ineligible for the 2025 NBA Draft. NBA rules state that a player must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft, which opens the door for Quaintance to play two seasons in college.
What makes Quaintance unique is that he would be a surefire top-10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft if he were eligible. Quaintance averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks while being the youngest player in Division l basketball. He would’ve been the third-youngest player in last week’s McDonald’s All-American Game had he stayed in his original recruiting class.
What this means for Kentucky
If Quaintance is healthy for the start of the 2025-26 season, he has a strong case as the best player available in the transfer portal. Pope had to replace the entire roster at UK after Calipari left for the vacant job at Arkansas last spring. Pope assembled a balanced roster, which helped the program get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Adding Quaintance changes the game.
With Quaintance in the fold, Kentucky will have one of the best defenses in its conference next season. Quaintance is an elite rim protector. The Wildcats haven’t had a player like Quaintance in years dating back to Calipari’s tenure.
The Wildcats have already added former Pitt star guard Jaland Lowe, Tulane forward Kam Williams and Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate. There is still a long way to go this cycle, but Pope bringing in those transfers coupled with five-star combo guard Jasper Johnson joining the program, there is no doubt Kentucky should be one of the early favorites to win the 2026 title.
Will Quaintance become the highest-drafted player in the portal era?
Since the 2021 NBA Draft, the highest-drafted player who previously entered the transfer portal was Davion Mitchell, who started his career at Auburn before transferring to Baylor. Mitchell improved his draft stock significantly under coach Scott Drew and was drafted No. 9 overall by the Sacramento Kings.
The highest-drafted transfer last summer was former Providence star Devin Carter, who started his career at South Carolina and was drafted No. 12 by the Kings in the 2024 NBA Draft. Other first-round picks in that draft class who started their college career elsewhere were Kel’el Ware (Oregon to Indiana), Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado to Tennessee), Jaylon Tyson (Texas Tech to Cal), Terrence Shannon Jr. (Texas Tech to Illinois) and Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State to Creighton).
Quaintance can become the highest-drafted player in the transfer portal era next summer if he’s drafted before the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
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