Basketball season is right around the corner, and talks are starting to brew up now that AP polls have been released. Your typical expected Big 12 teams are in there, such as Arizona at fifth, and other teams like Houston, Iowa State, and Texas Tech are all within the top 20. But Baylor has seemed to fall just short of that top list to start the season.

Could it be the roster overhaul Scott brought, or the missing NBA-level talent that left through the draft and portal this year? Or could it be from Baylor's shaky finish last year, going 17- 17 and falling short of making it to March Madness? Let's go over a few reasons why I believe Baylor is getting overlooked in college basketball this year.

Some Good Additions but Major Loss in Talent

Although Scott has made some solid pickups through the portal, Baylor has lost another NBA-level player in Cameron Carr, who averaged 19 points, six rebounds, and shot about 50 percent from the field. Although I feel he could've stayed another year and become closer to a lottery pick, the times are changing with NBA prospects, and going to the league younger just seems to be the move nowadays.

The Bears have also lost Tounde Yessoufou, who was a massive top-15 player in the country when recruited in 2025, and will be playing for St. John's this coming season. Unfortunately, this is a major loss to the Bears. Drew has found multiple talented players to replace the talent that has left.

Players like Kayden Mingo from Penn State and Isaac Celiscar from Yale will likely be two of the most productive players this year for the Bears. Mingo is a highly talented guard who can pretty much do everything, while Celiscar is a strong defensive forward who shoots the ball at a tremendous rate and with a great percentage in his career.

Overcoming Last Year’s Stumbles

Probably the biggest reason why we don't see Baylor start ranked or even close to being ranked. They had a rough year compared to the Baylor standard that has been held since they went 15-16 in 2006. Winning just six games in the conference is not going to get you a place in the tournament, and Baylor struggled severely to finish out games against conference opponents last year.

Baylor needs to be stronger in their conference games this season, and with no signs of Big 12 teams getting worse, it's definitely going to be a hard task to accomplish. The Big 12 is quickly growing in talent, with over seven teams getting a selection this past year, and multiple teams filling out the preseason top 25.

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