Baylor Bear-ly makes College Basketball Insider's Top 45 heading into the 2025-2026 season
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Although the college basketball season is still months away, that has not deterred sports media members from creating their preseason rankings. One of the more renowned preseason rankings comes from CBS Sports' College Basketball Insider, Jon Rothstein. The Rothstein 45 is a list that ranks and breaks down college basketball's top 45 teams, and is adjusted daily. In his most recent update, Rothstein's top 10 is as follows:
1. Purdue
2. Houston
3. St. John's
4. Florida
5. Michigan
6. Uconn
7. UCLA
8. BYU
9. Duke
10. Texas Tech
While many members of the preseason top 10 are not surprising, either due to returning talent or new talent via the transfer portal, the tailend of the list comes with a few surprises. Barely cracking the top 45, the Baylor Bears are currently ranked 45th on Rothstein's list, ranked behind schools like Kansas State, Georgetown, and Oklahoma. Before going in depth on the inflows and outflows of players, it's important to look at the current status of the Baylor Bears basketball program.
Over the last five years under head coach Scott Drew, Baylor has made the NCAA March Madness tournament every year, and even won a national championship in 2020. Additionally, the Bears have had an above .500% record dating back to the 2005-2006 season. It's simple, Scott Drew's Baylor Bears find a way to not only make it to March, but excel.
Going into the 2025-2026 season, Baylor is going to see some significant departures, losing star guard VJ Edgecomb to the NBA, along with forward Norchad Omier. Baylor also saw significant attrition to the transfer portal, losing guard Jalen Celestine to Cincinnati, Rob Wright III to BYU, and Joshua Ojianwuna to Ohio State, to name a couple. As a result of this, the 2025-2026 Baylor Bears will be filled with unfamiliar faces to many in Waco, including 8 incoming transfers and 4 incoming freshmen, headlined by 5-star Tounde Yessoufou.
Nice 3-pts shot off the dribble from Tounde Yessoufou.
— Algren 🧙♂️ (@AlgrenSymbiose) July 6, 2025
Obviously sample size is small and he also need to speed up his shooting mecanics.
Really excited to see him play for Baylor this season. pic.twitter.com/1beeGgbJGK
Although it may take time for this group to build chemistry with one another in the early season, if Scott Drew's pedigree holds, come March, this Baylor Bears team will certainly have the potential to outplay their 45th ranking on the Rothstein 45.
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Josh started covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Prior to Baylor Bears on SI, he worked as an intern for TheMichiganInsider at 247Sports. Josh graduated from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, with a bachelor’s degree in economics, where his passion for collegiate athletics continued to grow after attending his first game in The Big House. Combining his analytical background and his affinity for collegiate sports, Josh enjoys providing his unique perspective on the shifting dynamic equilibrium of the collegiate athletics landscape. When not watching sports, Josh enjoys cooking a nice meal, running, and traveling to new places with his friends and family.