Baylor prospect cementing top-five draft stock in home stretch

On Monday night, the Baylor Bears faced one of their toughest tests on the season in sixth-ranked Houston.

The Big 12 matchup went about as expected, with the Cougars jumping out to a quick arms-length lead, and Baylor failing to run the comeback, losing 76-65 for the Bears’ ninth loss of the season.

Despite Baylor’s woes — which have reared their head more this season than most others — hybrid prospect VJ Edgecombe remains one of the highest-ceiling prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft cycle. And as it stands now, he’s trending towards cementing himself in the top-five.

On Monday, Edgecombe scored 14 points on perfect shooting, hitting all five of his shots from the field, adding six rebounds, three assists and two steals. He’s continued to stuff the stat sheet in a variety of areas, improving on offense drastically in a short time while continuing to offer defensive versatility.

All of his field goals were earned via his powerful downhill attack, which led to transition dunks, an offensive cutback and plenty of highly-contested jumpers and finishes around the rim.

The only real blemish on his night were five turnovers, which haven’t been a massive issue for the frosh so far.

On the season, Edgecombe has now added 15.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks to his resume, shooting 45% overall and a massively-improved 39% from beyond the arc on good volume.

His three-level scoring prowess has long been known, but he’s been even better than many anticipated on that end of the floor. Per an earlier scouting report from NBA Draft on SI: “On the offensive end of the floor, Edgecombe can do it all. When he needs to score on the perimeter or in the midrange, he has a smooth jumper and an ability to convert on tough, contested looks. He also has no problem getting to the rim and finishing with either power or touch, depending on the situation. Especially as he continues to improve as a 3-point shooter, Edgecombe will only become a more dynamic scorer. In transition, he really shines with his ability to play above the rim.”

While Edgecombe is presently more worried about the Bears making the tournament opposed to his draft stock, an NCAA Tournament berth would certainly put him in the spotlight.

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