LONDON, Ky. — Caden Jones is a quiet leader at South Laurel High School, but his actions speak loudly. The senior from London has a 3.8 GPA and plans to attend college at Eastern Kentucky, where he’ll study to be a nurse anesthetist.


What You Need To Know

  • Caden Jones has a 3.8 GPA at South Laurel High School in London

  • He is also a star player for district-winning basketball team

  • He single-handedly built a playground for local kids

  • Jones plans to study nursing at Eastern Kentucky University

According to his basketball coach Jeff Davis, if college is anything like high school, he’ll be just fine. “To say things come easy to him academically is an understatement,” Davis explained.

Caden Jones is a standout player on the South Laurel basketball team (Caden Jones)

Jones has chosen a profession focused on serving others, but he’s not waiting to get a degree to do it — his commitment to help is already underway. Last year he single-handedly rebuilt a playground for local kids and he continues to maintain it. He explains that, “Any time you get the opportunity to give back, you really should. There’s smaller kids now that don’t really have anything like that, so I think it’s just important that they get to have something like that.”

Davis said gestures like that are typical, pointing out that he’s always a caring kid. “He’s always looking out for others and you know, he’s a big kid, big kid. So he’s a protector,” he shared.

He’s also a valuable member of the South Laurel basketball team, helping lead them to a district title every year he’s been there. “If a coach ever had a security blanket, he’s been mine for the last five years because you could always count on him to do his best, give his best and compete at the highest level he can,” Davis said.

That “five years” phrase wasn’t a misprint. Jones spent an extra year at South Laurel because he repeated his junior year because of COVID-19. That meant taking the exact same classes as the year before, but getting no grades for them. He says it was a weird experience, especially after all his friends graduated and he still had one more year to go. “I think at the end of the day it was a smart decision because it gave me more time to mature,” Jones said.

His passion is weightlifting and bodybuilding, and one day he’d like to compete for the Mr. Kentucky title. Davis says Jones has the perfect sense of discipline required to succeed in that sport. “He works out religiously, probably two or three times a day. The motivation factor that most kids at his age don’t have. The sky is the limit.”

Whether he’s posing on stage or taking a blood sample, you can count on Caden Jones to do his best. That’s why he’s a deserving Spectrum News 1 High School Scholar.