Kentucky coach Mark Pope provides injury update on potential NBA Draft pick

It’s been a disappointing and inconsistent 2025-26 season for the Kentucky Wildcats so far. Among the reasons for Kentucky’s inability to string together consistency is the injury woes from sophomore center Jayden Quaintance. He has been limited this season, and Kentucky head coach Mark Pope acknowledged that Quaintance will miss his fourth straight game on Wednesday, as per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Jayden Quaintance will not be available for Kentucky’s game against Texas this week as he is still dealing with a knee injury. Quaintance initially suffered an ACL injury last season, undergoing surgery soon thereafter. He was still in the process of his injury rehab and missed the first 11 games of the season before making his Wildcats debut on Dec. 20.

In that game, a big non-conference win against St. John’s, he showed exactly why Kentucky was thrilled to get him out of the transfer portal. He finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes while shooting 5-of-7 from the field. But he’s managed only three games since then as his knee has flared up.

In the games that Quaintance has been available for Kentucky, he’s averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Prior to his injury last year, he was in the midst of an impressive freshman season at Arizona State in which he averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocked shots.

He last played during Kentucky’s loss to Missouri on Jan. 7, finishing with one point, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 18 minutes as a starter. Quaintance has been regarded as a potential first-round NBA Draft pick mainly due to his interior presence as a rebounder and defender.

This is Kentucky’s second season with Mark Pope at the helm as head coach. In his first year, he led the team to a 24-12 record, and they reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament where they were ultimately defeated by Tennessee. This season, the Wildcats are 12-6 and 3-2 in SEC play. They have won three consecutive games though as they look to build momentum.

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