A plethora of fresh faces will be on display on Monday night in Waco, Texas, as Baylor and UT Rio Grande Valley will face off in an intrastate season opener.
Last season had its ups and downs for the Bears. While they extended their five-year streak of getting at least one March Madness win, they finished with their fewest wins since 2018-19 while going 3-10 against ranked opponents.
But there’s no one left from that Baylor team from a year ago as coach Scott Drew completely cleaned house, one of a handful of Power Five schools to return zero players.
“Offensively and defensively, you try to keep things simpler so people can pick things up quicker, and I think most of us have done that; not as many layers on layers,” Drew said Sunday after the Bears’ final exhibition game.
Part of Baylor’s No. 23-ranked incoming class (according to 247 Sports) is Michael Rataj, who is the Bears’ highest-rated transfer. Rataj was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team with Oregon State after averaging 16.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4% from the field.
Joining Rataj is highly-touted recruit Tounde Yessoufou. Ranked as the No. 14 player nationally and the seventh-highest rated recruit in Baylor’s history, Yessoufou is a 6-foot-5 wing who was an efficient finisher in high school, shooting 56% from the floor his senior year.
UT Rio Grande Valley also will have its share of newbies, returning just three players from last year’s team. The Vaqueros finished with a winning record last season for the first time since 2018-19.
They return Kwo Agwa, who started 21 games last season, who averaged 6.2 points per game on a 56.4% clip with 4.3 rebounds per game. He will be an important facilitator for UTRGV’s offense this season.
“Looking at from last year to this year, we want to be a lot more balanced and a lot more efficient offensively,” coach Kahil Fennell said this week. “Our ability to be more balanced both inside and outside is going to be critical for our ability to be effective and efficient offensively.”
The Bears lead the all-time series 4-3, but the Vaqueros won the last meeting 55-54 in 2004.
