Jaden McDaniels secures offer from Kentucky

One of the truly elite prospects in the high school recruiting class of 2019, Jaden McDaniels has received an official offer from Kentucky, according to Corey Evans.

McDaniels was in Lexington for his official visit recently after previously visiting the Washington Huskies, San Diego State Aztecs and Texas Longhorns. He has also visited the UCLA Bruins.

The Seattle native is ranked top-five nationally and dominated this year’s Nike EYBL Circuit. A 6-10 forward weighing in at 185 pounds, McDaniels can be considered an efficiently scoring tweener with his ability to score from the wings and dominate inside with his athleticism. For Kentucky’s sake, a potential commitment from McDaniels would break John Calipari’s recent misfortune with top-five recruits.

But before we get there, one thing needed to be resolved: McDaniels receiving an offer, and that’s now happened.

The 2019 recruiting class has the potential to be one of Calipari’s more successful classes, in terms of securing truly elite prospects, in recent years. With Tyrese Maxey currently a fringe top-five prospect with Khalil Whitney not far behind, there could be something special brewing in the year to come.

But with Kentucky having missed on James Wiseman and Vernon Carey, not to mention Isaiah Stewart looks highly unlikely, McDaniels is now Kentucky’s best chance at landing a top-five recruit in this class. He’s ranked No. 5 overall by 247 Sports Composite, which measures all of the major rankings.

Kentucky is still in the mix for Anthony Edwards, but Florida State is the heavy favorite in his recruitment, whereas Daniels is still a mystery at this point. Depending on who you ask, Washington, Texas and San Diego State have all gotten buzz for McDaniels.

Washington is more due to proximity to home, as they’re essentially the home school for McDaniels, who plays at Federal Way High School in Washington.

Then you’ve got the sibling connection with San Diego State, where Jaden’s brother, Jalen McDaniels, is a rising star who is already getting first-round buzz in the 2019 NBA Draft. If Jalen were to return to school next year, you have to think Jaden would love to go there and play with his brother.

The 2019 class has yet to truly boil down and likely won’t until the spring. Solidifying the bridges with all of these top players is likely the best way to prepare for the final stages of this recruiting circuit.

Check out some highlights of McDaniels in action:

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