Breaking: Baylor MBB Adds Forward Jalen Celestine from Transfer Portal

Head coach Scott Drew and Baylor have received a commitment from rising senior forward Jalen Celestine. Celestine is the third transfer portal commitment of the cycle, joining forward Norchard Omier (Sr.) from Miami and guard Jeremy Roach (Sr.) from Duke. The California transfer chose the Bears over Illinois, Auburn and UCF.

Cal Athletics

Transfer forward Jalen Celestine (Sr.) shot 44% from three-point range this past season at California.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward was ranked among the Pac-12’s top three-point shooters this past season, knocking down 44% of shots beyond the arc on 4.0 attempts per game. In 2023-2024, he played in 27 contests for the Golden Bears and averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game.

According to KenPom, Celestine had an offensive rating of 118 and was Cal’s most efficient offensive player. He was in the 99th percentile on catch-and-shoot three-pointers, which the Baylor system excels at creating.

Across his first two seasons in college, Celestine played in 53 games and made 22 starts. As a sophomore in 2021-2022, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 7.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Celestine suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2022-2023 season; he will have two years of eligibility remaining. Originally a native of Ajax, Ontario, Celestine finished out his high school career at Long Island Lutheran in New York – the same high school as five-star guard VJ Edgecomb (Fr.).

With forward Jalen Bridges (Sr.) heading to the NBA Draft, Celestine will provide an ability to stretch the floor with elite shooting; he also has the size to give Drew and the coaching staff plenty of options to mix and match. Celestine and four-star forward Jason Aseomta (Fr.) will give Baylor the ability to stretch the floor with size from the three and four positions.