By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Last season presented a new challenge for head coach Scott Drew: forming a completely new roster in a matter of months.
Drew put together a squad that relied on the talents of Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou. While the pair led the team throughout the season, the group lacked cohesion, leading to an underwhelming 17-17 campaign.
“In sports nowadays, with as much turnover and not returning as many people … you just never know how things are going to click and how quick people are going to gel together,” Drew said.
It is a new story for Drew and Baylor men’s basketball heading into the 2026-27 season as the Bears look to build off better depth and returners on the court and on the sideline.
“We’ve really liked this group,” Drew said. “We have more depth than we had last couple of years.”
Baylor dealt with three season-ending injuries that left it scrambling to find its lineups. Guard JJ White only played four games before missing the rest of the year, while sophomore forward Maikcol Perez and senior center Juslin Bodo Bodo did not see the floor. The injuries led the Bears to work with a seven-player rotation throughout the season.
The injury bug’s impact was unprecedented for Baylor under Drew.
“For the first 17 years, we only had one in the rotation that tore an ACL,” Drew said. “We added it up where we’ve been snakebitten the last couple of years, so we’re good from here on out, hopefully.”
The Bears have not received one of those blows as the season opener nears, giving guys like Bodo Bodo and Perez a new opportunity to make an impact in their second season in Waco.
“I’m really excited to see some people play that I didn’t get to see play because they were hurt last year,” Williams said.
The deeper squad will be guided by a group of familiar faces in Waco in the backcourt and frontcourt.
Junior guard Isaac Williams has already made his presence known in the exhibition schedule after a breakout sophomore campaign. He led the team with 28 points on 11-for-20 shooting in Baylor’s 95-91 win over No. 3 Illinois to close the preseason.
His return sparked confidence for the Bears as he looks to build off a promising year.
“I had no doubt that I wasn’t going to be a Baylor Bear,” Williams said. “[It’s] just building on my confidence out there, being more of a leader because I have been here a year.”
Fifth-year Caden Powell looks to command the frontcourt for Baylor. His eligibility remained a question during the offseason, but he was granted one more year in an August injunction that included 15 players.
While the Waco native gained the trust of Drew as the season progressed, starting in the last 20 games. Powell now tried to be a guide for the newcomers as the most experienced college basketball player on the roster.
“I just try to be a shoulder to lean on if anybody has a question,” Powell said. “I just try to give them the heads up of everything that’s to come, and let them know how it is here, and it is with game, and really just try to help shorten that learning curve.”
The veteran leadership is expected to guide a class of freshmen and transfers highlighted by sophomore guard Kayden Mingo and Dylan Mingo. Kayden has emerged as Baylor’s leading scorer in the preseason, putting up a combined 55 points against No. 1 Florida and Illinois. Dylan also shows promise as one of the top high school recruits coming in this season.
The brothers’ familiarity will play a vital role in their transition to the Bears.
“[The] thing that team had is guys that played together multiple years,” Drew said. “That’s the great thing about the Mingo brothers. No one’s been together longer than those two have. So those two know what to do on the court as far as playing with each other.”
Baylor also welcomes returners to the sidelines. Associate head coach Jerome Tang rejoined Drew’s staff after serving as Kansas State’s head coach. He looks to pick up where he left off at the end of his 19-year stint with the Bears.
“The great thing about coach Tang is sometimes in the past you do things that work and you forget about them, and you need to be reminded of what works,” Drew said. “The other thing is just knowing each other, and when his energy’s down, I know to pick it up and vice versa.”
While former All-American Tweety Carter enters his fifth year on Baylor’s staff, former Bears Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Jake Lindsey join as assistant coaches, with Lindsey also serving as the program’s general manager. They have shown their appreciation for their alma mater since coming back.
“It’s great learning from them, and probably the biggest thing is how much they love Baylor,” Drew said. “They bleed green and gold, and their passion to win and represent Baylor in a way that makes us all proud.”
The Bears open their season against Northwestern State at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Foster Pavilion.
