The Baylor men went 23-11 last season, ranked 11th nationally (AP), and finishing 3rd in the rugged Big 12 conference regular season. The Bears made it to the conference quarterfinals and the NCAA’s Second Round before bowing to Iowa State and Creighton, respectively. Here’s how I size up this season’s team and prospects.
Baylor lost eight players from the 2022-2023 squad. Flo Thamba ran out of eligibility; Adam Flagler and Keyonte George went to the NBA Draft; LJ Cryer, Dale Bonner, Zach Loveday, and Jordan Turner entered the transfer portal; and Jake Younkin, a walk-on, stepped away from the game. Several of those players represent big-impact losses because Flagler, George, and Cryer were the squad’s top-three scorers.
However, Baylor reloaded with solid high school recruits and through the transfer portal. The frosh adds include Ja’Kobe Walter, Miro Little, and Yves Missi, who reclassified from from the 2024 to the 2023 class. Transfers include RayJ Dennis, a 6-foot and 2-inch guard from Toledo, who averaged 19.5 points per game and earned MAC Player of the Year honors. Jayden Nunn, another guard (6’ 4”), arrived from VCU, averaging 9.3 points per game.
Baylor also added walk-on Omar Adegbola, a 6-foot and 5-inch guard, who averaged 24.7 PPG at Monteverde Academy. He is a developmental player who could get a scholarship down the line. Redshirt Yanis Ndjonga, a 6’8” and 220-pound forward, comes to Waco from New Mexico Military Institute, where he posted a solid record of 13.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 26 games. Ndjonga also connected on 42% of his 3-pointers (15 of 36).
Jaylon Bridges is the lone returning starter on Baylor’s team (photo courtesy On3.com)
Baylor returns starter Jalen Bridges, the only double-digit scorer returning from the 2022-2023 roster at 10.3 points per game. Bridges is joined by four returning reserve/role players, a redshirt, and a walk-on. Reserve/role players include Langston Love (6.3 PPG), Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (5.1 PPG), Joshua Ojianwuna (4.2 PPG) and Caleb Lohner (3.2 PPG). Dantwan Grimes, a redshirt, benefitted from the time to develop his skills, and Austin Sacks, a walk-on, also joins the 23-24 squad but probably won’t see much floor time this season.
Who do I see in the starting lineup? I’ll wager it will be Toledo transfer Dennis, incoming freshman Walter, and returning player Love at guard, joined by two other returning players, Bridges at forward and Tchatchoua at forward/center. My first off-the-bench projections are transfer VCU transfer Nunn, returning players Ojianwuna and Lohner, redshirt player Grimes, and incoming freshmen Little and Missi. I wouldn’t be shocked if Nunn starts over Love at some point in the season, perhaps even at the start.
I think the roster is loaded, but the big question is whether Baylor’s defense can improve significantly over last year when the Bears finished #182 among D-1 schools in scoring defense (NCAA) and 107th defensively nationally per Ken Pomeroy. I expect the defense to be better because every scholarship except Grimes has a wingspan of 6 feet and 7 inches or better. I think the offense could take a step back from last year (ranked 2nd last season per KenPom), but that doesn’t mean this year’s Bears will be a bad offensive team.
We’ll get a good sense early about the season’s prospects because Baylor plays a formidable pre-Big 12 slate that includes Auburn, Oregon State, Florida or Pitt, Michigan State, and Duke, with all of those games on the road.
Auburn is the season-opening opponent on Tuesday evening, November 7, in a game that will be played in Sioux Falls, SD, and televised on ESPN.
