By CHARLIE PARENT
NEW YORK — Jayden Hodge, a four-star shooting guard in the class of 2026 out of St. Rose (NJ.), picked up MVP honors at the Jordan Brand Holiday Classic via MadeHoops on Saturday.
The Belgian native dropped a game-high 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting with 5 rebounds in an 80-54 blowout over the George School (PA.).
“Jayden was awesome tonight,” St. Rose head coach Brian Lynch said postgame. “He has the ability to affect the game in so many ways. He’s elite defensively and gets steals all the time. Offensively, he’s just constantly putting pressure by attacking.”
The 6-foot-5 Hodge mentioned that Old Dominion, Penn State, Maryland, Villanova and Virginia Tech are schools he’s built early relationships with.
He has familial ties to two of the schools as Hodge’s father played for Old Dominion and his brother, Matt Hodge, is committed to play for Villanova next season.
Jayden broke down his relationship with both schools.
Old Dominion: “I’m definitely going to say ODU because my dad played there. The history there is amazing with my dad and I like it there.”
Villanova: “They definitely look at me as a totally different player. First, congrats to my brother, but I don’t think it will have an impact on my decision.”
In terms of skillset, Lynch believes Hodge is a surefire high-major player.
“For me, it’s no question,” Lynch said. “He’s already doing a lot of things without adding the element of being a knockdown shooter. As he gets older, I think he’s going to be an elite combo guard at the next level.”
Hodge and St. Rose will be back in action on Monday against Bergen Catholic (NJ.).
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