Report: Louisville '24 Target Jayden Quaintance Commits to Arizona State

Quaintance, a former Kentucky signee, is a consensus five-star prospect and is a McDonalds All-American.

Class of 2024 center Jayden Quaintance / USA Basketball

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A major recent target of the Louisville men's basketball program is opting to head elsewhere.

Jayden Quaintance, a consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2024 who emerged as a target of new Cardinals head coach Pat Kelsey following his decommitment from Kentucky, is signing with Arizona State according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowskl.

The center for for Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy originally committed to and signed with Kentucky during the early signing period last November. However, after the departure of Wildcats head coach John Calipari to Arkansas earlier this month, Quaintance asked to be released from his National Letter of Intent.

Following his release, Louisville immediately inserted themselves into the mix. This eventually resulted in Quaintance taking an official visit to the Cardinals on Apr. 19 ahead of the Jordan Classic.

After Quaintance canceled a visit to Arkansas and postponed a visit to Memphis, things started trending in Louisville's favor, with the Cardinals even getting a pair of crystal ball projections. But Arizona State was able to get themselves into the picture, eventually securing a visit for themselves.

Losing out on the 6-foot-9, 230-pound big man certainly stings. He is regarded as a five-star prospect in all four major recruiting services, and ranks as the No. 7 player in the 2024 cycle according to the 247Sports Composite. He was originally a member of the Class of 2025 before reclassifying.

That being said, Kelsey has still done a great early job in the roster construction department since being named the UofL head coach on Mar. 28. So far, he has landed eight D1 transfers for the 2024-25 season.

Guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott are both following Kelsey from Charleston, while James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr., Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley, Washington guard Koren Johnson, Long Beach State forward Aboubacar Traore and Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn are also joining the fold. BYU center Aly Khalifa also committed, but will redshirt the 2024-25 season.

(Photo of Jayden Quaintance via USA Basketball)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter