Ace Bailey (basketball)

About

Airious “Ace” Bailey (born August 13, 2006) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2025 NBA draft class.

Bailey grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and initially attended Boyd-Buchanan School. After his freshman year, he moved to Powder Springs, Georgia, and enrolled at McEachern High School. Bailey averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks per game as a junior. He improved his stats to 32.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 blocks per game as a senior. Bailey was selected to play in the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit during his senior year.

Bailey was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class, according to major recruiting services. On January 15, 2023, he committed to playing college basketball for Rutgers over offers from Ohio State, Kentucky, Kansas, Texas and Oregon. Bailey signed a National Letter of Intent to play…