Baylor Basketball

Breaking: Baylor Adds Oregon State Forward Michael Rataj From Transfer Portal

Oregon State forward Michael Rataj has committed to Scott Drew and Baylor.
By Ashley Hodge
March 31, 2025
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38 Comments
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Photo by © Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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Oregon State forward Michael Rataj has committed to Scott Drew and Baylor; he becomes the second transfer portal addition for the Bears’ 2025 class, joining Tennessee wing Cameron Carr.

Rataj, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward, led Oregon State in scoring this past season with 16.9 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 79% from the free-throw line. Rataj shot 35% from beyond the arc, making 33 of his 94 attempts. The First-Team All-WCC forward also averaged 7.2 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Originally from Augsburg, Germany, Rataj has played in 87 games over his three years at Oregon State and has one year of eligibility remaining.

Why The Fit Looks Good

A 6-foot-9 stretch four is a great luxury in modern college basketball. Rataj can score it in a lot of ways. He’s tough in the paint and skilled with post-moves around the basket. He doesn’t get rushed. He’s an excellent rebounder, particularly on the defensive end. He gets to the foul line a lot with five attempts per game and shoots it at almost 80%. You can play him with another big man or use him as your small ball center.  

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Scott Drew Green & Gold Reports Transfer Portal Michael Rataj Basketball Baylor Oregon State 2025
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Breaking: Baylor Adds Oregon State Forward Michael Rataj From Transfer Portal

17,563 Views | 38 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by bear2be2
Bearsalwayswin
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12:32p, 3/31/25
let's go?
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ImABearToo
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12:32p, 3/31/25
6'9 is a nice size forward. More please!
“Life is short, eat desert first!”
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BUDOS
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12:36p, 3/31/25
Back to back selections which appear really good! I hope they have a high motor, work hard, stay healthy, hungry and play aggressive defense.
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Bear51
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12:42p, 3/31/25
Maybe another Jake Bridges!
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TXBEAR_bf
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12:47p, 3/31/25
Good read on him: https://www.kerryeggers.com/stories/beavers-michael-rataj-he-is-a-fabulous-kid-to-be-around
Bear living in the woods of Bend Oregon
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TWD 1974
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In reply to Bear51 • 1:04p, 3/31/25
Bear51 said:
Maybe another Jake Bridges!
Jake? The rugby player?
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
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Johnny Bear
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In reply to TWD 1974 • 1:08p, 3/31/25
TWD 1974 said:
Bear51 said:
Maybe another Jake Bridges!
Jake? The rugby player?

Don't know about that - but maybe he could be like another Jalen Bridges……
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IowaBear
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1:23p, 3/31/25
I'm probably being too negative. It's just hard for me to get excited about one year rentals. That's all Bu seems to be closely associated with so far in the portal. The Omaha kid, the Wyoming kid are also 1 year rentals.
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Bearsalwayswin
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In reply to IowaBear • 1:24p, 3/31/25
i feel like this is a decent pickup though. understand the sentiment though and i hope most of the rest are multi years.
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IowaBear
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In reply to Bearsalwayswin • 1:25p, 3/31/25
Oh there's no doubt this is a good pickup. His film looks really good!
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Ewalker80
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1:32p, 3/31/25
Does he have a similar skill set to sochan?
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Crawfoso1973
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1:45p, 3/31/25
I like the 2.2 steals. That's a sign of hustle and defensive buy-in. Offense aside if he can give us the defense that Bridges gave us it will be a huge upgrade.
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Bear51
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1:46p, 3/31/25
Jalen Bridges
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TWD 1974
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In reply to Bear51 • 1:50p, 3/31/25
Bear51 said:
Jalen Bridges
Figured that was who you meant. If we wanted a rugby player, always thought Mark Vital had the look of a good one.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
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Ewalker80
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In reply to Bear51 • 2:27p, 3/31/25
Why do you say bridges over sochan? Seems to be a more prolific scorer, rebounder, and assist guy than bridges. Two inches taller and bigger. Sochan was more like 6 8 or 9 and was a great passer and more of a European style point forward player than a tall wing like bridges. I think he is a 4/5 like ormier instead of a 3/4 like bridges though of course he is perhaps a little in between
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TWD 1974
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In reply to Ewalker80 • 2:37p, 3/31/25
Ewalker80 said:
Why do you say bridges over sochan? Seems to be a more prolific scorer, rebounder, and assist guy than bridges. Two inches taller and bigger. Sochan was more like 6 8 or 9 and was a great passer and more of a European style point forward player than a tall wing like bridges. I think he is a 4/5 like ormier instead of a 3/4 like bridges though of course he is perhaps a little in between
I would take a Sochan and a Bridges, and a Macio or Heslip on the side please.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
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Big12Fan2024
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2:48p, 3/31/25
More big bodies like this, please!

Good signing. We have many spots to fill. Two-year or more transfers would be ideal, but like it or not we're gonna end up with a few one-and-done guys as well. Hopefully don't get too overbalanced with one-and-dones.


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whitetrash
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3:22p, 3/31/25
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BeauxBear
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In reply to BUDOS • 4:57p, 3/31/25
BUDOS said:
Back to back selections which appear really good! I hope they have a high motor, work hard, stay healthy, hungry and play aggressive defense.
THIS IS LOOKING GOOD!
BeauxBear. Old School BU Grad.
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boognish_bear
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5:06p, 3/31/25
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BearlyNose
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5:12p, 3/31/25
Where is the information on Cameron Carr?
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Big_Pumpin
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In reply to boognish_bear • 9:21p, 3/31/25
boognish_bear said:


Anyone concerned that his increase in production was due to the decrease in competition after the implosion of the PAC 12?
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Bearsalwayswin
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In reply to Big_Pumpin • 9:57p, 3/31/25
he put up numbers against gonzaga
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Shifa
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6:47p, 4/1/25
Quick question for those in the know. Met some "Bears" at our preseason baseball game and thought I'd ask on this forum.

Ok... so, we all know NIL info is full of hype and rumor. Individual deals are rarely revealed. But, OSU's announcer in Vegas stated Rataj was getting $1.5m from Baylor.

In asking and seeing the actual NIL #s posted on your athletic site that doesn't make sense. Especially since most schools funnel 70-75% toward football.

Michael is a great kid, maybe a good fit for your program, but... most hoops programs don't use $1.5m on a one and done Sr. Especially one that's not NBA caliber.

Osu can't afford 6 figures for a hoops player, let alone 7!

Thoughts. Thx in advance
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Shifa
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In reply to Big_Pumpin • 6:54p, 4/1/25
Long time OSU fan here. When landing a prospect, frosh or portal, it's always glass half full.

Michael is a great young man. Obviously a good college hooper. But, at 6'9" he's not overly athletic or strong. He did thrive vs lesser competition (just take a peek at OSU's SOS) and put up good numbers vs the Zags in one game. He can't guard athletic 4s. He's not a PF who will bang and get double digit boards. He's a stretch 4, and OSU never had him guard the best big on the floor.

I guess my earlier post was questioning if the NIL value mentioned here in Vegas was remotely accurate. And, if so, NIL deals are going to go crazy high!
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guadalupeoso
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In reply to IowaBear • 9:54a, 3/30/26
IowaBear said:
Oh there's no doubt this is a good pickup. His film looks really good!

IowaBear - you are a good poster. I usually think your takes have nuance in them and are well thought out.

But I saw in another thread that you were saying how it was "hilariously bad" that we misused NIL on Rataj. That whoever is managing the NIL needs to be removed.

Right here, 12 months ago "no doubt this is a good pickup." For what it's worth, I agreed with you and thought this was a great addition. Clearly, it wasn't a good pickup. But who would have known that at the time the deal was done? Apparently, not you or me.

This staff has clearly missed on several players, but so have fans. Every major program has overspent on players. But for the overspends, we also get guys like Isaac Williams that we probably spent pennies on. There is just no perfect methodology on this stuff yet and effectively using NIL, transfer portal, etc. is more art than science at this point. Even the programs that are figuring it out are only doing so on a year by year basis.

Again, I like your contributions on this board, so I'm not trying to dunk on you retroactively, but I think a lot of the revisionist takes on this board when it comes to our basketball program and the level of perceived incompetency are a bit overblown.

Granted, I understand that at the time, you probably did not know that they spent 1.7 on Rataj, and if you had, you probably would have said that that was too much, even back then. But the point remains that the consensus was, this was a good get for the team.

Just trying to create some perspective.
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IowaBear
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In reply to guadalupeoso • 10:28a, 3/30/26
I clarified this thought. His tape at the time looked really good. But that tape was against whoever the hell Oregon State played in their 1st year post P12 play. His stats drastically jumped post P12 play. It was a lazy analysis by me at the time. I'll take the L here. Isn't my 1st L. Definitely won't be my last
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bear2be2
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In reply to IowaBear • 12:35p, 3/30/26
IowaBear said:
I clarified this thought. His tape at the time looked really good. But that tape was against whoever the hell Oregon State played in their 1st year post P12 play. His stats drastically jumped post P12 play. It was a lazy analysis by me at the time. I'll take the L here. Isn't my 1st L. Definitely won't be my last

I didn't say anything in this thread, but I talked in other threads about this being a good addition and how Rataj would likely be one of our offensive leaders.

Our personnel folks/coaches weren't the only ones who missed on Rataj and Agbim. We all did.
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IowaBear
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In reply to bear2be2 • 12:52p, 3/30/26
Yeah I missed big time on Rataj. But if you watched his tape it's like he was a completely different player at Baylor. It's like the guy aged 20 years over the summer. I had mentioned well after this post in another thread that I was concerned Ratajs jump in numbers was due in part to Oregon St not being a P5 program anymore.
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bear2be2
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In reply to IowaBear • 1:24p, 3/30/26
IowaBear said:
Yeah I missed big time on Rataj. But if you watched his tape it's like he was a completely different player at Baylor. It's like the guy aged 20 years over the summer. I had mentioned well after this post in another thread that I was concerned Ratajs jump in numbers was due in part to Oregon St not being a P5 program anymore.

Yeah, it was pretty jarring watching him in a Baylor uniform for the first time. My first takeaway was, "Damn, this guy looks shockingly unathletic." I didn't notice it in his highlight videos, but it was obvious from his first game this season.
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Stefano DiMera
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3:10p, 3/30/26
Yeah I posted in several game threads mid season how overweight and dough-ey he looked.

Even the pic at top of this thread in Oregon St uni you can see the difference.
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Crawfoso1973
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3:41p, 3/30/26
Not just Rataj, but I have noticed a trend of recruiting ahtletically inept players the last 2 recruiting classes: Rataj, Obi, White (pre-injury), Roach, Celestine, and Nunn come to mind.

I would much rather keep getting great athletes like Isaac Williams who need a bit of refinement and development, as opposed to more polished guys from smaller conferences who will be athletically overwhelmed once competing in the big 12 and then turning over the entire roster. That strategy has not gone too well for us.
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bear2be2
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In reply to Crawfoso1973 • 4:46p, 3/30/26
Crawfoso1973 said:
Not just Rataj, but I have noticed a trend of recruiting ahtletically inept players the last 2 recruiting classes: Rataj, Obi, White (pre-injury), Roach, Celestine, and Nunn come to mind.

I would much rather keep getting great athletes like Isaac Williams who need a bit of refinement and development, as opposed to more polished guys from smaller conferences who will be athletically overwhelmed once competing in the big 12 and then turning over the entire roster. That strategy has not gone too well for us.

I didn't think Nunn was unathletic. He always struck me as pretty quick. He was just undersized and not exceptionally skilled. But I think that's a pretty fair criticism of everyone else on that list.

And the one counterargument to your second paragraph would be RayJ Dennis. He was the type of crafty, skilled player who can actually succeed without elite athleticism, but that's clearly a difficult evaluation when dealing with players moving up from the mid-major ranks.
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Quinton
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In reply to Crawfoso1973 • 10:13p, 3/30/26
Agreed.. and I actually agree on Nunn. He was sold as an explosive guy but his lateral movement (on defense) and his fluidity on offense just weren't there.

He was decent straight line but not enough to make up for mediocre skills. All the guys you listed just didn't show enough skill at this level to make up for the deficiencies.

Exception would be Ray J who was slow footed but had great anticipation and skills.
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Crawfoso1973
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In reply to Quinton • 4:59a, 3/31/26
Quinton said:
Agreed.. and I actually agree on Nunn. He was sold as an explosive guy but his lateral movement (on defense) and his fluidity on offense just weren't there.

He was decent straight line but not enough to make up for mediocre skills. All the guys you listed just didn't show enough skill at this level to make up for the deficiencies.

Exception would be Ray J who was slow footed but had great anticipation and skills.

In addition to his craftiness, at around 6-2 with his wingspan RayJ had great positional size for a college guard. He is not a poor athlete at all like the others on that list. His athleticism is a tick above average and it's that wingspan which allows him to compensate for a relative lack of quickness.
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