How Caden Powell Could Return to Baylor Next Season

Baylor Alum Caden Powell is looking at a possible return to the Bears on the back of newest eligibility suit filed against the NCAA.

Caden Powell seeks to return to the Bears for 2026-27. | via Baylor Athletic

College basketball’s transfer portal window ended on April 21st with most teams finishing their roster construction by the NBA draft withdrawal deadline on May 27th, yet Baylor could still add a familiar face to their squad.

Baylor is geared up for next season with a combination of highly rated transfers as well as prominent returners like junior guard Isaac Williams and redshirt junior center Juslin Bodo Bodo.  

Head coach Scott Drew is entering next season with high expectations to bounce back as the program comes off its worst season since 2006. Despite a .500 overall record and a 6-12 Big 12 record, there is an opportunity for one of the few bright spots from the season to return to the Bears.  

Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Senior forward Caden Powell was an unexpected standout in the 2025-26 season. The Waco native transferred from Rice with the expectation to backup Bodo Bodo and play no more than 15 minutes a game.  

Following a forearm injury to Bodo Bodo prior to the start of the season, Powell quickly stepped up into the starting center role. Playing with effort that crafted the 6’9 post into a fan favorite on a less than favorable team, Powell averaged 6.9 points and 6.3 rebounds on the year.  

With one roster spot now left open in Waco, the NCAA’s newest potential ruling of an age-based eligibility model has left the window open for Powell to potentially rejoin the ranks of a deep new Baylor squad. 

How Can Powell Return

The newest eligibility model creates a five-year window for all college athletes based on either their enrollment date at school or their 19th birthday.  

With this potential ruling, awaiting to be voted upon on Wednesday, a group effort lawsuit in Ohio that is seeking an injunction against the NCAA is expected to rule.

The filed suit lists 15 student athletes all from the class of 2022, who exhausted their four years of collegiate eligibility yet believe they deserve one more year based on the NCAA’s newest decision. Powell is included in the case and is expected to be seeking a return to Baylor.  

The suit is headlined by Ryan Downton, the same attorney who won an extra year of eligibility for former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to return for the 2025 season.  

If the injunction is given by the Ohio court circuit, in which the suit was filed in, Powell will have full ability to take the 15th and final roster spot on Drew’s newest team.  

Where Powell Would Fit

Baylor already has a deep team rolling into the next basketball season. Assuming the injury bug stays out of Waco, the Bears are looking at a probable 10-man rotation. The potential addition of Powell would gift the Bears not only more height but a veteran locker room leader who is already familiar with Drew’s system.  

The main conflict of Powell’s return would be a possible logjam at the center position. Bodo Bodo is guaranteed to start at the five, but redshirt freshman center Mayo Soyoye is queued up to take on the back-up big role. The possibility of Powell's return could bring in questions of a clutter in the post.

Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Rather than staying at center but shifting to a forward role for Powell could lead Baylor to return to a style of lengthy athletic rim runners that hasn’t been seen in Waco since the mid 2010’s.  

A transition of Powell to the four in a lineup that has either Bodo Bodo or Soyoye at the five, skies in Waco will be filled with flying Bears as Baylor’s frontcourt would be the best lob-threat in the Big 12. 

The NCAA will have a final vote on the eligibility model on Wednesday, with the Ohio suit expected to move forward based on the ruling.