Jayden Quaintance plans on spending 2 years at UK

John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats landed a huge commitment today, as five-star center Jayden Quaintance chose the Cats over the Missouri Tigers.

With his signature now in, Quaintance becomes the highest-ranked player in the class of 2024 for Kentucky alongside Boogie Fland, Somto Cyril, and Travis Perry. This recruiting win is another huge one for the UK staff, and not just for next season…for the 2025-26 season as well.

At his current age, Quaintance will have two years from the time he enters college before he will be eligible for the NBA Draft. Before his commitment, there was speculation he could spend one year at college, then head for the G-League for the second year.

However, in a conversation with Jacob Polacheck of KSR, Quaintance said he’s planning on being in Lexington for both seasons.

“I’ll probably stick with Kentucky, seeing all things go well,” Quaintance told Polacheck. “If everything goes how it’s supposed to go, I intend to play both years at the University of Kentucky.”

That is some huge news for the Cats if he ultimately spends both seasons in Lexington, and things seem to be trending in that direction.

Nevertheless, he will spend next year at UK, and that’s a major recruiting win on its own. If we didn’t believe it before, John Calipari really still is the best closer in the business.

Be sure to read Polacheck’s full interview with Quaintance for more insight into his recruitment and how close the Kentucky vs. Missouri battle really was.

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