Talented wide receiver commits to K-State over nearly 20 other power-four offers

Laron Baker, a dynamic receiver out of East St. Louis with offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Michigan, LSU and others, committed to K-State on Tuesday, further boosting one of the Wildcats' best recruiting classes in the past 20-plus years.

Kansas State football new head coach Collin Klein walks through an entrance at Morgan Family Arena as he's introduced in front of a crown on Dec. 5, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of K-State's best recruiting classes in the past 20-plus years got even better on Tuesday as Laron Baker, a 5-foot-11 wide receiver out of East St. Louis, committed to the Wildcats.

Baker, who is the No. 779 player nationally in the 2027 class, saw his recruitment explode following his sophomore year of high school that included strong performances at multiple summer camps, where he showcased speed clocked as fast as a 4.37 second 40. That led to scholarship offers from nearly 20 power-four programs, including LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Indiana, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Missouri and many others. Unfortunately, an injury caused Baker to miss most of his junior season.

Baker becomes the fourth wide receiver to pledge his commitment in the 2027 K-State class. All four rank in the top 800 players nationally.

The Wildcats now have 25 commitments as they close in on wrapping up the class, which ranks No. 2 in the Big 12. K-State now has 20 commits who are ranked in the top 1,000 nationally in the Rivals industry consensus rankings, far exceeding the most in a K-State class since at least 2004 (14 top 1,000 commits in the 2007 class). K-State now has 11 commits with double-digit power-four offers. The prior four classes combined had six commits with 10 or more power-four offers reported. The average power-four offers per K-State commitment is now 9. The average power-four offers per commit in the 2023-26 recruiting classes was 3.8.