Jayden Quaintance remains out for Kentucky basketball’s matchup with Ole Miss
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball sophomore Jayden Quaintance won’t play for the Wildcats against Ole Miss.
- Quaintance is still dealing with swelling in his surgically repaired knee.
- Kentucky is likely to have only nine scholarship-level players available against Ole Miss.
Kentucky basketball sophomore big Jayden Quaintance will miss a fifth straight game due to swelling in his surgically repaired knee.
That’s the major news from the availability report ahead of Saturday morning’s matchup between the Wildcats (13-6 overall and 4-2 in the SEC) and Ole Miss (11-8, 3-3) at Rupp Arena.
Quaintance — along with sophomore wing Kam Williams and junior point guard Jaland Lowe — were all listed as out for the Wildcats on the availability report.
Williams and Lowe were already known to be out for the contest. Williams broke his foot in Kentucky’s home win over Texas on Wednesday After that game, UK coach Mark Pope said Williams would “be out for a while.” Lowe has already been ruled out for the remainder of Kentucky’s season following a series of right shoulder injuries that will require surgery.
Quaintance — a 6-foot-10 sophomore who is projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft — hasn’t played for the Cats since a Jan. 7 home loss to Missouri, which he started. As a freshman last season at Arizona State, Quaintance tore his ACL in February 2025.
He underwent surgery for the torn ACL in March and was still in the early stages of rehabbing that injury when he joined the Wildcats as a transfer during the offseason. Quaintance has appeared in four games for UK this season. He made his Kentucky debut in the 78-66 win over St. John’s on Dec. 20, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking two shots against the Red Storm.
But since that strong opening performance, Quaintance hasn’t had much of an impact. In three appearances since that game, Quaintance has combined for 10 points, 12 rebounds, one blocked shot and six turnovers in 49 minutes on the floor.
Earlier this week, Pope expressed optimism that Quaintance would return to game action.
“He’s making progress,” Pope said. “...He’s kind of going through the process, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
With Lowe, Quaintance and Williams sidelined — along with the expectation that freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne and junior center Reece Potter will preserve their redshirt seasons — Kentucky should be down to nine scholarship-level players against Ole Miss.
The Rebels have a clean bill of health for Saturday’s game. No Ole Miss players were included on the availability report. The Ole Miss roster includes former UK player Travis Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history who spent last season with the Wildcats.
Saturday’s game between UK and Ole Miss was originally scheduled for a 12 p.m. start inside Rupp Arena, but the game is now slated to begin at 11 a.m. due to the threat of a severe winter storm. The game is still scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN and doors to Rupp Arena will open at 9:30 a.m. for fans.
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 8:13 PM.
