By SAM LANCE
CARTERSVILLE, GA — It’s been a busy summer for class of 2026 four-star prospect Jayden Hodge. The 6-foot-6 small forward has been a standout for NJ Shoreshots on the Under Armour circuit all summer, and with the AAU season wrapping up, he’s now looking forward to FIBA basketball.
Hodge represents Belgium and will compete at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in August.
“I’m very excited,” Hodge told ZAGSBLOG. “I’ve been doing it for the past four years. It means a lot playing for your country, obviously, on your chest. It’s just a blessing to be able to play for them, and I just give it my all.”
The four-star recently announced he’ll be playing his senior season at Montverde Academy. He’s excited to play against the highest level of competition every day.
“Just get better,” Hodge said. “It’s a great program, great coach. I’m ready to take that next step. Obviously Florida is nice. I’ve never been there. I’m just very excited to go down there.”
With NJ Shoreshots this summer, Hodge has been the engine that makes them go. He’s averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals while shooting 55% from the field.
“I’m a two-way,” Hodge said. “I can play the point, the guard. I can play the forward. I can guard kind of every position. I can go to the rim. I can get outside shots. Yeah, my game is a bit all around for sure.”
Hodge has family ties to basketball with his brother, Matthew Hodge, at Villanova and his father, Odell Hodge, now a special assistant to the head coach at Old Dominion, where he starred before playing professionally.
On the recruitment front, Hodge visited Georgetown and Northwestern in June. He will take an official visit to ODU Sept. 5-7.
Other schools involved include Penn State, Seton Hall, TCU, Vanderbilt, VCU, Villanova and Virginia. Hodge broke down some of these programs to ZAGSBLOG:
Georgetown: “Georgetown was a great visit, very nice place. I really like the coaching staff. They have recruited me since the start, like beginning of my sophomore year. So that visit was very good. I like the play style a lot. They also have big guards. They like to play fast, so I can definitely see myself being there.”
Northwestern: “I was very surprised. That was my first official visit without my brother. Because I went last year with my brother to a couple of schools. But it was very good. I like the school a lot. I had a lot of fun. I like the coaching staff. It was a great visit for sure. They just kind of play an open offense, just transition ball. I think that’s kind of me. I like to go out in transition. They have set plays, but not too much. Just kind of play basketball. That’s who I am, I just play basketball. You don’t always have to run play sets, just go out and get easy baskets. So I definitely can see myself there.”
Villanova: “Things have been alright. My brother is there, but that won’t make an impact on my decision to go to Villanova. I’m going somewhere I feel like I have a good connection with the coaching staff, I feel like I really want to be. Obviously my brother is there, but that won’t have an impact.”
On head coach Kevin Willard: “I haven’t really talked to my brother about that. I went on a few unofficials to see some practices for my brother, but I think we’re still kind of building that relationship with coach Willard. He called me a couple days ago, so that was really the first time I had that call. So we’re still kind of building a relationship there. But he’s a great coach. He’s done some good things at Maryland. I’m excited to see how they’re going to be.”
Hodge is ranked the No. 44 overall prospect in the 2026 class by 247Sports.
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