Baylor MBB Signs Highest-Ranked Recruiting Class in Program History
WACO, Texas – Baylor men’s basketball has signed a trio of top 40-ranked prep prospects to National Letters of Intent, head coach Scott Drew announced Thursday. The Bears’ 2021 signing class is the highest-ranked in program history, coming in at No. 4 nationally in ESPN’s 2021 recruiting class rankings.
Baylor signed Kendall Brown out of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., Langston Love out of Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., and Jeremy Sochan out of Orange Academy in Ulm, Germany.
“This was an unprecedented year of recruiting during a pandemic, and I’m so proud of our staff finding innovative ways to highlight all of the great things about Baylor University, allowing us to sign the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history,” head coach Scott Drew said. “These three young men are all immensely talented on the court, but we’re even more excited about their character and how they fit in with Baylor’s mission and values. We are so grateful that Kendall, Langston and Jeremy all chose to join the Baylor Family, and we can’t wait to get them on campus and into our program.”
Baylor’s three-member signing class is the Big 12 Conference’s highest-ranked and trails only Michigan, Oregon and Duke in ESPN’s rankings. The Bears are No. 4, followed by Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Villanova and UConn rounding out the top-10. All three of Baylor’s signees committed to the Bears during a one-week span in July.
Brown is a 5-star forward ranked No. 12 nationally and No. 3 at the small forward position in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. He’s from Cottage Grove, Minn., and currently attends Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. The program’s fourth 5-star signee, following Isaiah Austin, Quincy Miller and Perry Jones III, Brown selected Baylor over reported offers from Kansas, Arizona, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio State, Maryland, Marquette, Creighton, Texas, Iowa State and many others.
Love is a 4-star guard ranked No. 23 nationally and No. 5 at the shooting guard position by ESPN.com. He’s from Universal City, Texas, and currently attends Montverde Academy in Florida. Love reportedly had offers from more than half of the Big 12 Conference, as well as Villanova, UCLA, Stanford, Illinois and Marquette, among others.
Sochan is a 4-star forward ranked No. 40 nationally and No. 11 at the power forward position by 247Sports.com. He’s from Southampton, United Kingdom, and currently attends Orange Academy in Germany. Sochan previously played for La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, before electing to remain in Europe for his senior season. He chose the Bears over reported offers from Michigan State, Xavier, DePaul, Florida State, Creighton, Georgetown and many others.
All three members of the Bears’ 2021 signing class will join the program in the summer of 2021 as freshmen with four years of eligibility.
Baylor’s No. 1-ranked 2020-21 squad tips off the season in the 2K Empire Classic at Mohegan Sun, where the Bears will face No. 18 Arizona State at 8:30 p.m. CT on Nov. 25. BU will then face either No. 3 Villanova or Boston College the following day at 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. CT, before continuing the five-game trip to open the season with the Big 12/Big East Battle at Seton Hall. BU wraps up the trip by heading to Indianapolis to face a to-be-announced opponent in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 2 and No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 5.
BAYLOR CLASS OF 2021 SIGNEES
Kendall Brown, 6-8, 205, 5-star
Cottage Grove, Minn. (Sunrise Christian – Bel Aire, Kan.)
National Ranking: No. 12 (247Sports)
Position Ranking: No. 3 (247Sports)
Langston Love, 6-4, 190, 4-star
Universal City, Texas (Montverde Academy – Montverde, Fla.)
National Ranking: No. 23 (ESPN)
Position Ranking: No. 5 (ESPN)
Jeremy Sochan, 6-8, 215, 4-star
Southampton, United Kingdom (Orange Academy – Ulm, Germany)
National Ranking: No. 40 (247Sports)
Position Ranking: No. 11 (247Sports)