Previewing Eight Utah Jazz Players 22-Years-Old Or Younger
Oct 8, 2025, 2:34 PM | Updated: Oct 9, 2025, 10:54 am
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz enter the 2025-26 season in full-on rebuild mode with eight players under contract, 22 years of age or younger, who are looking to be rotation regulars for Will Hardy.
Utah can already pencil former All-Star Lauri Markkanen and budding top-ten center Walker Kessler into the starting lineup for 30+ minutes a night whenever healthy. Behind them, veteran newcomers Jusuf Nurkić, Kyle Anderson, and Georges Niang are vying for playing time.
The young players are indeed the future of the franchise, but on-court production, not lofty draft status or contract size, will determine playing time when the regular season begins later this month.
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first (preseason) road trip for the rooks, they grow up so fast 🥹 #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/VDz51sC1BB
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 7, 2025
2023 draft picks Taylor Hendricks (9th overall), Keyonte George (16th overall), and Brice Sensabaugh (28th overall) are all on different timelines entering year three.
The following year, Utah added Cody Williams (10th overall) and Isaiah Collier (29th overall) in the first round, followed by Kyle Filipowski (32nd overall) in round two.
The Jazz took a swing on Ace Bailey (5th overall) and picked up Walt Clayton Jr. (18th overall) in the summer of 2025.
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Forward – Taylor Hendricks (Central Florida, 2023)
21 years old | Year 3
Taylor Hendricks enters year three of his NBA career as a relative unknown after a fractured leg in his third game of 2024. According to reports, the 6’9 power forward used the rehab process to transform his upper body in the weight room and entered training camp as a 100 percent participant following the injury.
Health will be the primary concern for Hendricks starting the season, but it’s time for Hardy and the Jazz to find out what they have in the former No. 9 pick.
learning, growing & showing love
training camp notebook: day 2 📓 https://t.co/eP0k8lwCT9#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/sv3pUwdJIu
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 1, 2025
Hendricks has been limited to 856 minutes played in a 43-game pro career. He has career averages of 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on 43.4 percent shooting and 36.8 percent from three.
His twin brother, Tyler Hendricks, was a teammate of Taylor’s at UCF before transferring to Utah Valley University for the 2025-26 season.
Guard – Keyonte George (Baylor, 2023)
21 years old | Year 3
Keyonte George has occasionally flashed the shot-creation and playmaking skills to be considered a long-term rotation player in the league, but maddening inconsistency and an inefficient offensive repertoire have kept George from developing into the difference maker Utah hoped for when selecting him in the 2023 draft.
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The 6’4 combo guard has averaged 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and five assists in 142 career games. He set career-highs in points (16.8), assists (5.6), and rebounds (3.8) while shooting 39 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from deep as an NBA sophomore.
2025-26 figures to be a make-or-break year for George in Utah. If he can up his efficiency, George has the potential to be a 30-minute-a-night player at either guard position.
Forward – Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State, 2023)
21 years old | Year 3
The 6’6 sweet-shooting forward enters 2025-26 on the verge of becoming not only Utah’s best shooter, but one of the best perimeter shooters in the entire league.
Brice Sensabaugh struggled with his conditioning early in his rookie season, which limited his production in his first year. Last season, the former Buckeye raised his shooting percentage by nearly seven points (.390 to .459) and his three-point shooting improved from a sub-30 percent rate to 42.2 percent, which ranked 15th best in the NBA.
If Sensabaugh can be even average defensively, he can solidify his place in Hardy’s rotation.
Sensabaugh has career averages of 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, along with an effective field goal percentage of 55.8.
Wing – Cody Williams (Colorado, 2024)
20 years old | Year 2
Cody Williams didn’t look physically ready for NBA action after being taken with the tenth overall pick out of Colorado in 2024. Utah is likely betting as much on genetics; Williams’ brother, Jalen, has become a game-changer, having won a championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2025, as well as his individual skill set.
If the younger Williams can develop similarly to his brother, Utah’s lottery bet will pay off despite the often underwhelming play he offered as a rookie. Listed at a sinewy 6’7 and 190 pounds, Williams reportedly added significant strength in the offseason in hopes of better withstanding the NBA pounding.
Interestingly, Cody is still more than three years younger than his older brother, Jalen, who played three seasons of college basketball at Santa Clara, compared to Cody’s one year of collegiate hoops.
The jury is still out, but the San Luis Obispo, California, native needs to take a massive step forward this season to avoid becoming a first-round flameout.
Guard – Isaiah Collier (USC, 2024)
21 years old | Year 2
The Atlanta, Georgia, native got off to a slow start as a rookie, but blossomed in the second half of the season despite his shooting never coming around.
After acclimating to the NBA pace, Isaiah Collier almost immediately became Utah’s best playmaker because of his elite vision, passing instincts, and electric end-to-end speed.
everyone say ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAIAH’ 🎉🥳#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/kIp4CvdUcW
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 8, 2025
Collier made his NBA debut against the Milwaukee Bucks in Utah’s eighth game of the season. He assumed the starting point guard responsibilities in early January and never let up. The former USC Trojan averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and led the team with 6.3 assists.
Collier etched his name in franchise history when he passed Hall of Famer John Stockton for the most assists (446) as a rookie.
Forward/Center – Kyle Filipowski (Duke, 2024)
21 years old | Year 2
A former Duke Blue Devil, Kyle Filipowski, was a projected mid-first-round pick who Utah pounced on when he was still available with the second pick of the second round.
Filipowski is an offensively gifted player, but his defensive limitations make his route to a rotation spot murky. He is a true ‘tweener’ who is too small for many NBA centers, but not quick or athletic enough to defend many power forwards.
The 6’11, 250-pound big man averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and showed instinctive passing ability out of the post and on the high block with 1.9 assists. He is capable of knocking down three-point shots consistently and gives the Jazz a solid pick-and-pop option out of the front court.
Wing – Ace Bailey (Rutgers, 2025)
19 years old | Rookie
Once projected as a top-three pick in the 2025 draft, Ace Bailey fell to Utah after a tumultuous interview process that saw Bailey’s representatives prevent him from working out for any teams during the draft process.
Jazz GM Austin Ainge didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on Bailey when the 6’10 forward was available with Utah’s No. 5 pick. Bailey has received rave reviews from teammates and media about his personality and game as he prepares for his first NBA season.
Ace Bailey says he models his game after Jayson Tatum, Paul George and Kevin Durant.
The 2025 #5 overall pick makes his NBA preseason debut against KD tonight 👀
UTA/HOU, 8pm/et, NBA League Passpic.twitter.com/1lqwuBDSRz
— NBA (@NBA) October 8, 2025
Bailey figures to be a Rookie of the Year contender and would be the first Utah Jazz player to win the award.
Guard – Walt Clayton Jr. (Florida, 2025)
22 years old | Rookie
Despite being a rookie, Walt Clayton Jr. is the only one of Utah’s eight young building blocks who is familiar with feeling 22 years old.
The 2024-25 NCAA AP All-America First Team member comes to Utah as one of the most experienced players in camp after playing 139 college games across four seasons and piloting the National Championship-winning Florida Gators in 2025.
Clayton Jr.’s shooting will be his meal ticket in the early season after he shot 44 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three in college.
Follow the Utah Jazz with KSL Sports
The Jazz begin the 2025-26 regular season at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, October 22. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. MT.
All Jazz games will be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM). Occasionally, KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) will also pick up Jazz games.
Utah Jazz fans can watch the team’s games next season for free over the air on KJZZ TV and can stream the games through a paid streaming-based platform on the team’s website. KJZZ is currently broadcast on channel 14.1.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10- 12 p.m. with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
