Top-50 wing Hodge includes UVA among his final 8

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia is in the running for another Hodge — 6-foot-6 wing Jayden Hodge — from New Jersey. The 4-star cut his list of schools to eight: Virginia, Mississippi State, Georgetown, VCU, Northwestern, Penn State, ODU and Vanderbilt.

He is the younger brother of Matt Hodge, who flirted with UVA before choosing Villanova. He is also the son of former ODU great Odell Hodge, now a special assistant on the ODU coaching staff.

Jayden Hodge is ranked No. 47 overall in the nation by 247Sports, the No. 20 small forward in the country and the No. 10 best overall player in the state of Florida, now that Hodge has transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida for his senior year.

He made On3’s top 70 list.

While playing for St. Rose High in Belmar, N.J., last season, he averaged 21.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Over the summer, playing on the UAA Circuit for the NJ Shoreshots, he averaged 16.8 points and 8.0 boards per game. He also played in seven games for the Belgian FIBA U18 World Cup team and averaged 15.9 and 6.9.