Winning the NCAA tournament is as tough as it gets. But successfully defending it the next season is tougher. But no matter how hard the goal may be, the Baylor Bears are aiming to achieve it.

After winning the 2021 March Madness tournament, the Bears are now preparing for the upcoming season. During a recent podcast, coach Scott Drew discussed what his 2021-22 roster looks like as of now.

He said, “Right now we had Davion who declared. MaCio and Mark Vital, they graduated and are preparing for their professional careers. Jared Butler had not made a final decision. If he chooses to go, he’d have our full support. I will find that out in the coming days or weeks. Matt Myer is testing the waters. After he gets his feedback, he’ll make a decision.”

“As for the rest of the guys, with the transfer portal, anything can change at anytime. But everybody else is excited to come back. Obviously we have a great recruiting class (too).”

Huge departures for the Baylor Bears,

The Bears had a very experienced team, and that paid off for them as they beat Gonzaga to win their first ever NCAA tournament. But now, heading into the upcoming season, they are likely to lose a lot of those players.

The biggest loss will be Jared Butler, who was a candidate for National Player of the Year. Averaging 16.7 points per game while shooting 47% from the field and 41% from three, Butler was their main scorer. He was also their primary playmaker and averaged 4.8 assists per game. He was also a defensive star. This leaves a huge void for the Bears.

Davion Mitchell had his moments where he overshadowed Butler on both ends, so his loss will also be tough. Finally, seniors MaCio Teague and Mark Vital, leaving further weaken the Baylor team. Those are four of their best players, and it will be tough to replace them.

Baylor’s recruiting class is impressive

The Bears have got three commits all ready to the program for the 2021-22 season. Five-star prospect Kendall Brown is the biggest new arrival. Along with him, the Bears have lined up two more four-star prospects in Langston Love and Jeremy Sochan. Combining these new talents with some of the players left on the team, the Bears will still be dangerous and will be raring to defend their title.

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