MATC’s Jayden Hackett named to South roster for NJCAA all-star game

MATC’s Jayden Hackett kept the Stormers in the national JUCO conversation when the school unveiled the North and South rosters for the 2026 NJCAA Men’s Basketball All-Star Game and placed him on the South side. The showcase, which featured 26 of the NJCAA’s best from the 2025-26 season, put Hackett on one of junior college basketball’s biggest stages at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

That selection mattered because it came with receipts. Hackett was already on the NJCAA’s official 2025-26 Division II men’s basketball All-America first team, and MATC said he was only the second player in school history to earn first-team All-America honors. The program leaned into that run of recognition in an April 16 story headlined “From All-American to All-Star: Hackett’s Breakout Season Earns Another National Honor,” framing the all-star nod as part of a bigger postseason climb rather than a one-off tip of the cap.

The numbers behind the honor explain why Hackett’s name traveled beyond Milwaukee. Region 4 statistics show he played 36 games, started all 36, averaged 27.7 minutes per game and shot 52.2 percent from the field. MATC lists him as a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard from Sobieski, Wisconsin, and Bay Port High School, a profile that fits the kind of versatile, efficient production coaches chase at the next level. He was productive enough to stay on the floor every night and efficient enough to turn that workload into national recognition.

The all-star invitation also sharpened Hackett’s recruiting profile. MATC announced on April 30 that he signed with Central Michigan after his breakout season, so the all-star stage served as one more high-level checkpoint before he moved on. For MATC, the selection reinforced what the school already had on paper: a player developed in its program who was good enough to reach first-team All-America status, draw a spot on the South roster and keep the Stormers visible in the national junior college talent map.