Top-50 guard visits Auburn

One of the top overall recruits in the 2020 class took an official visit to Auburn over the weekend.

Jayden Stone, the No. 9-ranked point guard and No. 48 overall player, arrived in Auburn Friday afternoon and stayed until Saturday night.

Stone’s mother and grandmother joined him on the visit.

“It went really good,” Stone said. “We toured the campus, met with academics and everything. We got a whole rundown of the program.”

Stone, who transferred recently from Sacred Heart in Anniston, Ala. to Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Air, Kan., spent a lot of time with the coaches, including coach Bruce Pearl.

“He’s a good guy, a good person,” Stone said. “There is a reason his teams have done so well and that’s a credit to himself and everything that he has built in that program. He’s rebuilt it.”

Stone also met with Auburn assistant and lead recruiter Wes Flanigan. The two have developed a strong bond throughout Stone’s recruitment.

“He’s a good person, too,” Stone said. “He’s down-to-earth. He’s consistent with his calling and seeing how you are, which is obviously what you really want. If you want an athlete to attend your program, that’s what you have to do and he does that really well.”

Stone took an official visit to Michigan State May 31-June 2. He also plans to visit Baylor, but has yet set a date. Auburn, Michigan State and Baylor have been the most consistent schools in Stone’s recruitment and he doesn’t see that changing. Other schools also could join the mix.

“Those three schools are the most consistent recruiters for me,” Stone said. “They’ll be in there. Coaches are busy with different athletes and are recruiting the best of the best, so sometimes they don’t get around to others until later. Different schools could pop up at different times.”

As for a timeline for a decision, Stone said he would like to make one by the end of the summer.

“I have some camps coming up and then I’ll start looking at running down all the schools and evaluating my top schools,” Stone said. “Before my senior season, I want to be pretty much locked into where I’m going.”