Over the past week West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges announced he’d be joining the Baylor Men’s Basketball team, former BYU F Caleb Lohner shared he’d do the same, and Kilgore College G Dantwan Grimes is following suit! Thanks to an extremely talented coaching staff, the Baylor Men’s Basketball team continues to add extraordinary talent to their formerly depleted roster. Despite all odds and constantly compiled difficulties, the Baylor Men’s Basketball team had great success over the 2021-22 season! Back in March, the then-ranked No. 3 Men’s Basketball team inked their second consecutive regular season title in Waco! The Bears closely held off Iowa State, 75-68 despite missing leading scorer LJ Cryer and defensive star Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. Prior to head coach Scott Drew’s tenure, Baylor had only made the Final Four in 1948 and 1950 and the NCAA tournament in 1988. In 2003, the Bears made headlines after a player killed one of his teammates and the head coach at the time covered it up. Since Drew was hired that same year, he’s recorded a school record 398 in 19 years and before this year, notched a postseason record of 21-9 since 2009. Much of the program’s success is due to Drew and his staff’s (specifically Director of Recruiting Operations Jason Smith) impeccable recruiting skills that mostly recently manifested in acquiring international standout Miro Little (I wrote about Little replacing fellow international star Jeremy Sochan who recently declared for the NBA Draft here!), West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, Caleb Lohner, and now Dantwan Grimes!
Bridges announced his commitment to the Bears on Twitter after recently visiting Waco. He entered the transfer portal in March following the closure of the Mountaineers’ season. A skilled forward, Bridges was also considering Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan as he’s been heavily recruited by many college programs over the past month. Standing at 6’7, Bridges averaged 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks over the span of last season’s 33 games. He averaged 42.8% of field goals and 32.5% of 3s.
Lohner is another transfer joining the Bears, this time from soon-to-be Big 12 challenger BYU. His announcement came on Friday after only entering the transfer portal three days prior on April 19! The former Cougar forward stands at 6’8 and 235 pounds with two years spent in Utah. Over the past year, Lohner averaged 7 points and 6.4 rebounds with 7 blocks and 15 steals. He shot 42.2% of field goals and 21.3% of 3s.
As if the Bears don’t already have depth at the G position, Dantwan Grimes is an exciting addition to the roster! Coach Drew doesn’t shy away from drafting experienced athletes of different backgrounds to the Baylor program with Grimes as the most recent JUCO product since fellow G Dale Bonner joined the mix. Grimes previously spent two years at Kilgore College standing at 6’2 and 190 pounds. Hailing from Ocala, Florida, Grimes is a graduate of Vanguard High School. In his second and final season playing for Kilgore, Grimes averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 boards, and 3.2 assists over 34 games as a starter. He shot 38.7% of field goals, 35.8% of 3s, and 81.3% of free throws.
Bridges, Lohner, and Grimes each have three seasons of eligibility left and they’ll join an immensely talented roster surrounded by the likes of Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Flo Thamba, LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, Langston Love, and incoming Miro Little and Keyonte George (as well as many others). Baylor Basketball just won’t quit!!
