Cal Sports Report

Canadian Forward Becomes Cal's First Basketball Commitment for 2026

Athletic Dionycius “Nyce” Bakare commits to the Cal basketball program after decommitting from Penn State
Jake Curtis|
Cal coach Mark Madsen picked up his first commitment for 2026
Cal coach Mark Madsen picked up his first commitment for 2026 | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Dionycius “Nyce” Bakare, a three-star small forward from Canada who attends high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, announced on social media this week that he has committed to Cal’s basketball program for the class of 2026. He becomes Cal’s first basketball commitment for next year’s class.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Bakare had committed to Penn State in July but decommitted without any announcement in October and is now headed for Berkeley.

Besides Cal and Penn State, Bakare had offers from Alabama, Illinois, USC, SMU, Washington, Seton Hall and South Florida.

The 247Sports Composite rankings rate Bakare as the nation’s 153rd-best prospect in the class of 2026 and the 46th-best small forward prospect.

Bakare is attending Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale after transferring from Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

He grew up in in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and he averaged 16.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 20 appearances with UPLAY Canada in the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL)  this past season.

Bakare is described as an elite athlete with big-time jumping ability, a good basketball IQ and good skills.

“First of all, and it's a bit understated, but he has extremely good defensive feel," Phelps School coach Trey Morin told 247Sports said of Bakare as a sophomore. "He covers up mistakes as a young player that people look for in older guys. Along with that, obviously his athleticism jumps off the page. He's pretty skilled, and has an extremely high offensive IQ. Those are the things that make him a really good player."

He averaged 14.8 points 5.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Phelps

Here are some highlights of Bakare during his junior season.

Cal opens its 2025-26 season on Monday, November 3, with a home game against Cal State Bakersfield. The Bears play their first three games at home before facing Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, on November 13.

Cal then plays two more home games before its game against 12th-ranked UCLA at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tuesday, November 25.

The Golden Bears begin ACC play with a December 30 home game against 11th-ranked Louisville, and later in the season Cal hosts sixth-ranked Duke and 25th-ranked North Carolina in consecutive games January 14 and 17.

Cal has a virtually brand-new roster in Mark Madsen’s third season as Cal’s head coach with 11 new players.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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