The first thing that struck Jayden Reid about Quinnipiac on his official visit was the arena.
“The first thing that hit me was the architecture of the building and the size of the arena,” Reid said, “I went to a couple games this year and I saw how filled out it can get. I can’t wait to get in there and hopefully fill it out with the group of guys we have coming in.”
Reid is a native of Cheshire, Connecticut. The 6-foot-9 stretch forward is one of three incoming three-star recruits for Quinnipiac in 2025 – the highest-ranked freshman class in program history since the high-school ranking system began in 2003.
He played two varsity seasons at Cheshire High before moving to the Westminster School in Simsbury for his sophomore year, less than an hour from Quinnipiac. In three seasons with the Martlets, he reached the 1000 career points milestone in March and owns the school’s career blocks record. Reid said that hitting a thousand was his favorite memory of playing at Westminster.
“It was the last game of the season against Taft and I was like eight or nine points away,” Reid said, “Hitting that mark, it really shows my dedication and my craft… It’s a lot of dedication for any player that hits a thousand.”
“Jayden is a pretty quiet guy. He’s reserved. He was a two-year captain for me and I pushed him to be in that leadership role,” said Westminster head coach David Pringle, “When he does speak, guys listen. His demeanor is quiet and chill, but he’s a very hard worker. He really leads through his actions.”
Senior Captain @jaydenreid_ & @QU_MBB commit made the All-Founders team.
Jayden is a 1000 point scorer, all-time leader in blocks, and he led the team in assists this year. #Westy🏀 #Family🔥 pic.twitter.com/eTd8HljvNF
— Coach Pringle (@DPringleCoach) March 12, 2025
Reid compares his game to a mix of Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks and Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies.
He takes the most pride in his defense and rebounding. In his junior year, he recorded a 10-block, 11-rebound triple-double against Canterbury, setting a Westminster record.
Offensively, he’s a stellar playmaker and does a great job finding open teammates. He shoots well from deep and does a good job scoring inside. Reid is a high-IQ player and shows great awareness on both ends of the floor. He’s a high-IQ student too, rocking a 3.7 GPA.
Pringle called him a “Swiss-Army knife at forward”. He said the biggest areas of growth for Reid are his aggressiveness with the ball around the basket and his overall physicality.
“NEPSAC basketball is a much faster-paced league, so it took him some adjustment time,” said Pringle, “You could tell in the beginning he was still getting used to the physicality.”
Quinnipiac was the first school to extend Reid an offer after he put up a 12-rebound performance in his sophomore year against Choate Rosemary School. It was a stroke of luck for Quinnipiac associate head coach Shaun Morris.
He was initially there to see then-Quinnipiac signee Khaden Bennett, who was in his post-grad year at Choate. Reid’s play impressed Morris immensely and he offered him a scholarship immediately after the game.
“For him, it’s how much upside there’s going to be, when you look at him and see some of the highlight plays that he can make as a guy that’s 6-foot-9 and moves the way he does,” Morris said, “When you’re 18, 19 years old, you’re going to look one way. When you’re 20, 21, you’re going to look dramatically different… He’s going to be regimented with the strength and conditioning aspect of it.”
Pringle said that Reid took a big leap in his junior year after his first summer with the PSA Cardinals, an AAU team in the Bronx that competes in the Nike EYBL Circuit.
With PSA, Reid was able to sharpen his game against some of the top prospects in the nation. His productivity on the Nike circuit made Quinnipiac even more aggressive in his recruitment.
Other programs soon jumped into the race for Reid. Colorado, Vanderbilt, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Fairfield, Bryant, Central Connecticut, Saint Louis and UAlbany were all vying for his services at one point. At the end of the day, the connection Morris had built with Reid pushed the needle towards Quinnipiac.
“At first, [my recruitment] was really strong when I first started playing for PSA. But with the transfer portal not too many coaches were coming around, other than Quinnipiac, towards my senior year,” Reid said, “Coach Morris stayed in touch with me and he really believed in me. That made the decision a lot easier.”
Quinnipiac being less than 10 miles from where he grew up didn’t hurt either.
“Whether I went to Connecticut, California, Oregon, or wherever, the distance didn’t matter to me,” Reid said, “But it is a factor at the same time. Having my mom and dad close by, having my sister only 35 minutes away, they’ll be able to come out and support me, which means a lot.”
“I think there are a lot of guys, where their best basketball happens when they’re around family and friends,” Morris said, “When you’re home, there’s just another connection you have to it.”
Pringle advised Reid on his college decision throughout the process, telling him to go somewhere he could grow.
“I told him that with the landscape of college, with the portal and with NIL, it was best to go to a school that really had a plan for him,” he said, “Stay the course and go where you’re wanted.”
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Coming off his second summer with the Cardinals, Reid verbally committed to Quinnipiac in September, announcing his decision on social media.
Unknown to him, one of his PSA teammates, Keith McKnight, would soon be joining him. McKnight announced his commitment in October, marking Quinnipiac’s second three-star pickup in a month. Both signed their national letters of intent in November.
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“I actually didn’t know Keith was coming. He told me he had other options, but when I saw he committed to Quinnipiac, I was surprised,” Reid said, “That’s my boy though, at the end of the day… I’m sure we’ll get tight this season together.”
Morris said that they didn’t recruit them as a “package type deal” but watching Reid play over the summer made Quinnipiac ramp up its recruitment of McKnight.
“You watch them and you’re like, ‘Oh this kid’s good too’,” Morris said, “But it was each individual recruitments.”
Nevertheless, Morris said that coming in with a familiar face should help both players make the transition to college. He says relationships are one of the keys to recruiting and that holds true for players, too.
“They really like each other as people, too,” Morris said, “It helps the burden.”
Reid is set to get his diploma at the end of May. Looking forward to his freshman year at Quinnipiac, he’s most excited about hitting the ground running in the same gym that captivated him on his first visit.
“I’m most excited about the work, the progress, the journey. I just wanna see how much I can grow,” Reid said, “I love basketball, man. I just want to get on the floor and contribute, but I know that I’m gonna have to put in the work so I can.”
.@jaydenreid_ is a Bobcat!
↓↓↓ pic.twitter.com/HoeINTOiOD
— Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball (@QU_MBB) November 13, 2024
