Class of 2027 guard Payton Jones from Beaumont, Texas, narrowed down his list of schools to seven, with the Cincinnati Bearcats among those schools. Jones scheduled a visit to Cincinnati in early June and took the visit on the June 21st weekend. The visit must've gone well because they made the 4-star, top-50 recruit's top 7 list alongside Baylor, Boston College, Clemson, Houston, Maryland, and Oklahoma State.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard held offers from Auburn, Missouri, Mississippi State, LSU, Kansas State, and SMU, none of which made the cut to his final seven teams. At Beaumont High School, Jones averaged 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. He carried them to a 36-4 record and the Texas Class 5A Division II championship game, where they would lose to Mansfield 52-40.
According to 247 Sports, Jones has a player rating of 91 and is the No. 48 recruit in the country; he rose from No. 78 in early June. He is ranked as the No. 8 combo guard in the class of 2027, and the No. 4 player in the state of Texas.
The Bearcats currently have 4 guards who would be rostered with Jones if he were to commit: three current players, Trevian Carson, who transferred in from North Dakota State University, Akai Fleming, who transferred in from Georgia Tech, and Elijah Perryman, who followed Jerrod Calhoun from Utah State. The Bearcats also have Princeton High School commit Kameron Mercer, who would be in the same incoming class as Jones.
The Bearcats are targeting two other guards from the class of 2027, both of whom are Cincinnati high school recruits. Josh Tyson, a 4-star from Lakota West, and Isaiah Mack-Russel, a 4-star from Winton Woods.
Payton Jones, the No. 58 overall recruit in 2027, cut his list to seven on Tuesday night.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) July 22, 2026
While in Louisville, he discussed four schools who have prioritized him in Baylor, Cincinnati, Houston and Oklahoma State. || VIP: https://t.co/f84RZTgmlN pic.twitter.com/mYh9ZskM3g
