Arizona State freshman Jayden Quaintance had ACL surgery on March 19 for a tear in his right knee, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Quaintance is seen as a potential top-five prospect in the 2026 draft.
Per Givony, Quaintance is also entering the NCAA transfer portal to seek out his next collegiate opportunity.
“He’s already ahead of schedule, the doctor says, and should be cleared for contact in September,” his father Haminn Quaintance said.
With the 2025/26 season slated to tip off in November, Jayden Quaintance’s recovery timeline sounds optimal.
A Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive teamer, Quaintance logged averages of 9.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 2.6 BPG during his debut college season. Quaintance, born in 2007, graduated high school a year early. He is not eligible to declare for the NBA until next year’s draft.
There’s more from the upcoming draft:
Northwestern swingman Nick Martinelli, the leading scorer in the Big Ten this season, is testing the waters ahead of the draft, but will keep his college eligibility, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). The 6’7″ forward averaged 20.5 PPG in 2024/25 for the Wildcats. He would stay with Northwestern were he to return to the NCAA. Martinelli was not among the top 100 prospects on Givony’s latest 2025 pre-draft big board.
Two-time All-SEC Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard will declare for the 2025 draft, but plans to preserve his collegiate eligibility, the 5’10” NBA hopeful informed Joe Tipton of On3 Sports (via Twitter). Tipton is also not among Givony’s top 100. In 34 contests this season, the sophomore notched averages of 18.9 PPG, 3.1 APG and 2.1 RPG. He logged shooting splits of .402/.345/.878.
In a fresh mock 2025 draft, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report highlights the upside of three intriguing prospects out of Florida and speculates about the appeal of two potential picks out of Auburn, big man Johni Broome and guard Tahaad Pettiford.