By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Head coach Scott Drew and Baylor men’s basketball is on a roll, landing their third transfer in as many days. Following an official visit on Tuesday afternoon, Cincinnati rising senior guard Dan Skillings Jr. announced he committed to the Bears on Instagram.
In three seasons with the Bearcats, Skillings appeared in 100 games (28 of which he started). In 2024-25, the 6-foot-6 guard was an All-Big 12 honorable mention, averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 22.8 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 44% from the field. Skillings dealt with a knee injury that held him out for six games, which led to him starting two fewer games last season than he did in his sophomore campaign and saw his time on the court drop by 5.1 minutes per game.
In a breakout 2023-24 season, Skillings shot 42.1% from the floor on 11.4 field goals per game. The Blackwood, New Jersey native picked up 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. As a freshman, Skillings averaged 5.3 points on 38% shooting in 14.6 minutes per game.
Rolling into Waco with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Skillings is a highly talented defensive player with the skills to guard the best player on the court. He doesn’t have a tremendous 3-point track record, shooting 28.1% on three attempts per game.
At Cincinnati, Skillings played against the Bears four times, averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in those contests. Those matchups include a season-high 18-point outing on Jan. 7, a 24-point outburst on Jan. 13, 2024 and 15 points and four steals in the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship quarterfinal on March 14, 2024.
Skillings brings extensive postseason knowledge to the fold, having played in two games in the inaugural College Basketball Crown this year and six games in the NIT across his first two seasons. In 2024, he picked up a double-double in the quarterfinals (12 points, 12 rebounds) and dropped 20 points against Bradley.
Skillings joins High Point forward Juslin Bodo Bodo, Rice forward Caden Powell, Wyoming guard Obi Agbim, Oregon State forward Michael Rataj, Tennessee guard Cameron Carr, and Omaha guard JJ White as the Bears’ loaded transfer class. After forward Josh Ojianwuna entered the transfer portal Monday, the Bears will return nobody who saw the court in the 2024-25 season.
Skillings has one year of eligibility remaining.
