All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
King’s Fork’s Epps, a hot DI basketball commodity, narrows list to six
Jayden Epps, a highly rated recruit in the Class of 2022, made an immediate impact to the King’s Fork High School Bulldogs, helping the team win its first state title since 2009. Epps’ play earned the attention from a number of DI programs and the junior recently released his top six schools. (Photo: Jessica Dickason/SaFire Studios, Courtesy: Rick Hite)

King’s Fork’s Epps, a hot DI basketball commodity, narrows list to six

SUFFOLK, Va. (BVM) — Jayden Epps has become used to the hype. That’s just the kind of thing that happens when you get your first scholarship offer in middle school. After receiving his first Division I scholarship offer after his sixth grade year from Hampton, Epps has slowly climbed to the mountaintop, earning numerous scholarship offers from elite programs. This was always what Epps wanted, but it did not come overnight.

Prior to his sophomore season last year with King’s Fork High School, Epps was an elite 6-foot-1 freshman guard at Granby High School in Norfolk, Va. Already seen as a big-time player, excitement surrounded Epps’ arrival to the Bulldogs as he was rated as the No. 62 player in the Class of 2022 and No. 1 sophomore in Virginia entering the season. Epps would not disappoint.

“He obviously is one of the best players in the country, in any class I believe,” Bulldogs head coach Rick Hite said. “He really raises the bar of all the players and especially of those who are getting college interest as well. That’s the one thing people really may not see, how hard he works and how committed he is not only to his personal goals, but also the team goals. With that, it really raises everyone’s commitment and dedication to the craft.”

Epps led the Bulldogs with 26 points per game while also averaging six assists and six rebounds. (Photo: Jessica Dickason/SaFire Studios, Courtesy: Rick Hite)

It didn’t take Epps long to prove he was elite either. During the Bulldogs’ first game of the season, Epps dropped a school-record 46 points in a win. He would keep up his torrid pace throughout the season as well pacing the Bulldogs with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists a game during the team’s 28-game campaign. 

“The way we play and guards I coached in the past, I just knew what we do schematically would work for him,” Hite said. “We put a lot of pressure on defenses [and] that’s right up his alley. He was able to get to spots, make shots and he’s able to do it because we’re able to play free and play hard.”

This success would help lead King’s Fork to a Class 4 Region A championship and into the Virginia High School League Class 4 state tournament. Though the season would end early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs would still earn a share of the Class 4 state title, the program’s first since 2009, finishing the year with a 19-3 record.

“Last year we played probably the toughest schedule in the state; we played everybody everywhere,” Hite said. “So while we actually didn’t play the game, we felt we were the best team all along. We used the old BCS metric, the old bowl schedule. The team that got the most votes at the end was the number one team and we felt like we won. That was Epps’ thing. That’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to lead the group to a state title and he was a huge part of that.”

For his individual success, Epps would also be named the VHSL Class 4 Player of the Year and be recognized as a first team all-state member as well. It’s fair to say Epps met expectations and then some in his first season with the Bulldogs. He impressed so much in fact that rumors throughout the summer suggested Epps would leave the program to enter a more nationally-recognized high school to improve his own stock, but he has silenced the whispers by committing to the Bulldogs for the upcoming season.

Despite rumors that he may leave the program, Epps’ committed to the Bulldogs’ for the 2021 season providing the team with its star player for at least one more season. (Photo: Jessica Dickason/SaFire Studios, Courtesy: Rick Hite)

“We can beat any national-caliber team; we know that and we believe that,” Hite said. “A lot of people told me he was going to leave and I was just confident in what we’re doing and what we’re building so you don’t have to run to an Oak Hill or IMG or one of these traditionally nationally ranked teams. King’s Fork can be a nationally ranked team. Absolutely.”

With all the attention surrounding Epps’ future in the program and beyond, it is no surprise that the guard had received a significant amount of interest from Division I schools. Currently ranked as the No. 64 prospect in the Class of 2021 by recruiting website 247Sports and No. 53 by Rivals, Epps was extended multiple Division I scholarships during his sophomore season. To date, he has been offered by 13 different universities including Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, North Carolina State, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth, among others.

On Dec. 21, Epps gave an early Christmas present to six of the teams that offered him scholarships when he announced on his Twitter page his top six schools. The schools included are Florida, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Providence, Texas A&M and North Carolina State. Though no decision has been made yet about his collegiate future, the narrowed list still brought plenty of eyes with over 100 retweets and nearly 800 likes on the post.

“The six schools are really good schools with really good cultures,” Hite said. “He’s taken the necessary steps. He’s a family guy, he’s big on family. He understands what he’s trying to get out of the next level so with that being said he’s all about development. He knows he has a lot to develop. He understands that. … When it’s time for him to decide among those six, what’s going to take him to where he wants to go, which is ultimately playing professionally.”

Unfortunately for Epps, he won’t be able to turn heads in the same way he did a year ago as the VHSL announced it would cancel its winter basketball season. With the cancelation, Epps’ future again is up in the air as to what he will do on the court. However, Coach Hite is preparing his team as if Epps will be with them as they take on a more “club-oriented” season.

“It’s tough,” Hite said. “This thing is so much bigger than wins and losses. We play a vital role in these kids’ lives for the next step they take. The coach in me is obviously disappointed, but my job is to make sure they not only win games, but reach their potential on and off the court. That made me go to plan B which is to schedule club games, events that are streamed out to coaches. … put them against nationally ranked opponents that are doing the same thing and keep coaches updated.”

With six schools patiently waiting for the opportunity to bring the young phenom to their campus, Epps will focus on bringing the Bulldogs up to another level, regardless of if he can participate for a state title or not. While the expectations surrounding Epps may be high, he’s been used to it for a while now and he has never not met them.