The five-star center will join Hurley and ASU in the Big 12
Sun Devil fans woke up to a “Woj bomb” on Monday morning.
ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced that five-star center Jayden Quaintance committed to Arizona State. The post on X, formerly Twitter, has received over three million impressions, making it perhaps the biggest news break for ASU in recent memory — and rightfully so.
Quaintance is the highest-ranked recruit in Arizona State basketball history, with a .9970 composite score. The 6-foot-9 center from Cleveland, Ohio, is the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2024 ESPN Top 100 high school basketball recruits and the highest available prospect until Monday morning when Hurley hauled in the star.
Major commitment on a potential 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick: Jayden Quaintance – a 16-year old ranked as the No. 2 center in ESPN’s Top 100 prospects — will sign with the Arizona State Sun Devils, he tells ESPN. He recently de-committed from Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/5u8D0Vdd9p
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 29, 2024
His pledge to ASU has propelled Hurley’s 2024 class to the highest ranked class ever, just edging out the 2020 class, which included four-star Marcus Bagley and the No. 8 recruit, Josh Christopher, that earned a .9967 composite score.
LETS ******* GO‼️ ⬆️
— Bobby Hurley (@BobbyHurley11) April 29, 2024
Quaintance was originally committed to Kentucky, but after head coach John Calipari left for Arkansas, the No. 1-ranked center in the class reopened his recruitment. After considering Louisville heavily, Quaintance’s surprising commitment to Tempe boosted the Devil hoops spirits significantly as the program enters the best men’s basketball conference in all the land next season.
With a 247Sports Composite grade of .9970, Jayden Quaintance is the highest-rated hoops commitment in ASU history, ahead of Josh Christopher at .9967.
Quaintance, 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, reclassified from 2025 to 2024. He’s not eligible for the NBA Draft until 2026.
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) April 29, 2024
Quaintance’s age was another factor in his recruiting. Quaintance will be turning 17 this July, meaning he was originally in the class of 2025 but reclassified in order to begin his college career early. Therefore, it is likely that Quaintance will spend two years in college before entering the NBA draft in 2026 when he will be 19 years old, a new rule change that came in the 2024 NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Before high school, Quaintance moved to Phoenix and played his freshman year at basketball powerhouse Hillcrest Prep. His sophomore year, he transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play for Word of God Christian Academy where he was a 2024 McDonald’s All-American in his last year.
As a player for USA Basketball in the U16 FIBA Americas Championship, Quaintance averaged 6.7 points and 6.5 rebounds to help the team claim the gold medal in the tournament.
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
One of the most notable aspects of Quaintance is his physicality. At 230 pounds, Quaintance has extremely broad shoulders and long arms. He has a 7-foot-3 inch wingspan and uses his long arms and strength to dominate down low.
According to Adam Finkelstein, the director of scouting for 247sports.com, Quaintance already has the offensive skill set to be a mismatch at the next level with advanced footwork, a soft touch around the rim, and explosive athleticism.
In wake of the breaking news, guard Adam Miller announced we will be returning while ASU commit Jaden Smith announced he will reopen his recruitment.