Baylor got a major roster boost yesterday when Caden Powell was granted an extra year of college basketball eligibility as part of a collective lawsuit that included 15 players.
For the Bears, the timing matters. Powell brings depth, experience and a fit in Scott Drew’s program, and those are all traits Baylor needed as it heads into the season. The Waco native is back home after previous stops at Wyoming and Rice, and his return last year turned into a much bigger job than expected.
Powell was supposed to help anchor the frontcourt, but a preseason injury to Juslin Bodo-Bodo wiped him out for the entire year. That left Powell with an even larger load at center, and the role never really changed, especially after the addition of James Nnaji didn’t deliver much.
What Baylor lacked in recent seasons was the kind of roster depth that used to define its best teams. Those older Bears squads could keep bodies fresh by rotating heavily, and that let them maintain the relentless defense that powered so much of their success.
In the past few years, that cushion disappeared. Last season, Scott Drew was often down to eight-man or even seven-man rotations.
This season looks different. Baylor now has solid depth on the perimeter and on the wing, and Powell’s return gives the front line the kind of support it has been missing.
Powell does not look like a day-one starter for the upcoming season, but he should still see meaningful minutes. He is not the kind of player who profiles as starter quality for an elite-eight team in 2027, but he is exactly the sort of dependable piece strong teams like to keep ready on the bench.
That kind of bench strength is what separates this 2027 Baylor roster from the 2026 version. Isaac Williams IV, who started often for the Bears last season, is expected to slide into a sixth-man role this year.
The Powell ruling also feels like the finishing touch on a rebuild Baylor badly needed. Drew kept the players he wanted and moved on from those he did not see as major contributors. Dan Skillings Jr. could also end up with a similar eligibility ruling, but a Baylor reunion looks unlikely.
Skillings has already drawn interest from Washington, Auburn, ASU, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Miss state, GCU and Butler, according to his agent Scott Nichols, who told @thefieldof68. Skillings spent his first three years at Cincinnati and averaged 9.4 points and 5.7…
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What has stood out to the staff is how Brown has looked in contested situations, the sort of plays that can flip a drive when an offense is still finding rhythm. In a system that needs more reliable playmakers around Lagway, Browns ability to win in traffic gives Baylor something it has been lacking, and if that shows up once the games count, the Bears may have found the kind of receiver who can change a defenses plans. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes this stretch interesting for Baylor is that the talent discussion is only part of the equation. Lagway is still working through the usual quarterback growing pains of learning timing, building trust and getting comfortable in real game situations, and the opener against Auburn will be an immediate test of how far that process has come. For a player with this much expectation attached, the next few weeks will say plenty about how quickly Baylor can turn promise into production. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor's New-Look Offense Puts Jake Spavital In The Spotlight
Baylors offense is spending this stretch of the offseason figuring out how to replace the production and roles left behind by Josh Cameron and Michael Trigg, and the early answer has been to lean into versatility. With transfer addition Gavin Freeman among the new faces in the receiving room, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital has been talking through a group that can be moved around and deployed in different ways, giving the Bears more options as they reshape the passing game.
Spavitals task is less about forcing the new pieces into old spots and more about building packages that make the most of what this roster can actually do. That matters even more with a mobile quarterback like DJ Lagway in the mix, because the more the Bears can threaten defenses with motion, alignment changes and quarterback movement, the harder it becomes to settle in on one answer. For a Baylor offense looking to be less predictable this season, the creativity may start with how these receivers are used. [Read more 🡒]