2029 6-foot-6 Ryle HS center Jayden McClain to visit Kentucky WBB weekend of Ole Miss football game

The state of Kentucky has had some Division I girls’ basketball talent emerge over the years, but in the last half-decade or so, the amount of uber-talented players in the Bluegrass has grown tremendously. Class of 2025 stars ZaKiyah Johnson (LSU), Leah Macy (Notre Dame), Ciara Byars (Michigan) and Peyton Bradley (Louisville) all went to Power 4 programs.

That Kentucky-to-Division I pipeline isn’t going away anytime soon either. Ryle‘s Jayden McClain, a 6-foot-6 center in the 2029 class, is set to be one of the better prospects in the country when we get to 2027 and 2028 — sometime closer to when she’ll commit to a school.

McClain holds offers from the like of Ole Miss, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Clemson and Purdue, among several others. One of the schools on her radar? Kentucky.

In fact, McClain recently announced on social media that she plans on taking an unofficial visit to Kentucky on September 6th — the day the Cats take on No. 20 Ole Miss on the gridiron.

Excited to be back in LEX this weekend for my 6th unofficial visit , watch workouts and to attend my first UK football game 💙 #BBN #LEX #wildcats #UK #Unofficial #AllAProcess #TrustTheProcess #SEC #BIGBLUE pic.twitter.com/q83WDnMXYq

— Jayden McClain (@JaydenMcClain24) September 2, 2025

This won’t be her first visit to Lexington, however. Last summer, she made a stop at the Joe Craft Center and following an offer from Kenny Brooks, the soon-to-be phenom talked to KSR about her relationship with the staff.

“I loved the staff,” McClain explained. “I actually met Coach Josh [Petersen] when I was in 5th grade, and he’s really cool. [I’m] looking forward to building a relationship with Coach Brooks. He was chill, and I was comfortable with him.”

“[We talked about] just how long I have to go,” she added. “I have a lot of talent being so young, and they are excited to get to know me and hope to see me at a lot of games.”

Like she said, her recruitment has a long way to go, but you have to like Kentucky’s chances early on.

Rundown of prospects offered by Kentucky

2026

• 5-star post Olivia Vukosa – No. 3 overall, No. 1 post – Christ the King (FL)
• 5-star point guard Kate Harpring – No. 4 overall, No. 1 point guard – Marist (GA) – Committed to North Carolina
• 5-star guard Trinity Jones – No. 7 overall, No. 3 guard – Bolingbrook (IL)
• 5-star point guard Maddyn Greenway – No. 11 overall, No. 2 point guard – Providence Academy (MN) – Committed to Kentucky
• 5-star guard Bella Flemings – No. 12 overall, No. 5 guard – Brennan (TX)
• 5-star wing Savvy Swords – No. 18 overall, No. 4 wing – Long Island Lutheran (NY) – Committed to Kentucky
• 4-star guard Jenica Lewis – No. 19 overall, No. 7 guard – Johnston (IA)
• 4-star forward Amari Byles – No. 22 overall, No. 4 forward – DeSoto (TX)
• 4-star guard Sanai Green – No. 23 overall, No. 9 guard – Long Island Lutheran (NY) – Committed to Duke
• 4-star forward Kamora Pruitt – No. 24 overall, No. 5 forward – Legion Prep Academy (TX)
• 4-star wing Bella Ragone – No. 28 overall, No. 7 wing – Mill Creek (GA) – Committed to Notre Dame
• 4-star forward Mimi Thiero – No. 35 overall, No. 9 forward – Quaker Valley (PA)
• 4-star guard Emily McDonald – No. 39 overall, No. 13 guard – Long Island Lutheran (NY)
• 4-star guard Whitley Rogers – No. 41 overall, No. 15 guard – Little Rock Christian Academy (AR)

2027

• 5-star guard Ivanna Wilson Manyacka – No. 2 overall, No. 1 guard – Bullis (MD)
• 5-star post Caroline Bradley – No. 3 overall, No. 1 post – Oak Grove (LA)
• 5-star wing Jordyn Palmer – No. 6 overall, No. 1 wing – Westtown (PA)
• 5-star wing Micah Ojo – No. 7 overall, No. 2 wing – Princess Anne (VA)
• 5-star guard Sydney Savoury – No. 15 overall, No. 4 guard – Belleville (MI)
• 4-star point guard De’Andra Minor – No. 21 overall, No. 3 point guard – Grind Prep Academy (OK)
• 4-star forward Sydney Mobley – No. 22 overall, No. 6 forward – Big Walnut (OH)
• 4-star guard Madeline Mignery – No. 33 overall, No. 11 guard – Cardinal Mooney (FL)
• Forward Isabella Marion – Unranked (international) – Denmark

2028

• 4-star forward Sydney Douglas – No. 2 overall, No. 1 forward – Centennial (CA)
• 4-star point guard Chloe Johnson – No. 3 overall, No. 1 point guard – Marshall (MN)
• 4-star wing Ella Peper – No. 4 overall, No. 1 wing – Dexter Southfield (MA)
• 4-star guard Jhaliana Guy – No. 19 overall, No. 10 guard – Bettendorf (IA) – Committed to Stanford
• 4-star guard Erin Thomas – No. 22 overall, No. 11 guard – Princeton (OH)

2029

• Center Jayden McClain – Unranked (no rankings for 2029 yet) – Ryle (KY)
• Wing Carib Morris – Unranked (no rankings for 2029 yet) – Cresset Christian Academy (NC)

(via ESPN’s SportsCenter NEXT Rankings)