Baylor forward Caleb Lohner enters NCAA transfer portal

Baylor forward and former BYU player Caleb Lohner has entered the transfer portal once again, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Lohner spent his first two seasons of school at BYU, averaging exactly 7.0 points as a freshman and sophomore while grabbing more than six rebounds per game in both seasons. After moving to Baylor ahead of his third season, Lohner went on to average 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game over two years with the Bears.

The curly-blonde-haired and big-bodied forward is a tough body inside who’s proven himself as a very strong rebounder. He didn’t quite have the pffensive game to be a major rotation piece at Baylor, but Lohner is surely a solid role player at most schools.

Now, he’ll evaluate options ahead of his fifth and final season of college hoops.

Baylor coach Scott Drew meets with Kentucky

Lohner could be the first of many Baylor departures, including the Bears’ own longtime head coach, as Kentucky will reportedly meet with Baylor head coach Scott Drew regarding its coaching vacancy, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

This comes in the aftermath of John Calipari leaving for Arkansas. Drew is a national champion-winning coach, having won a title with Bears in 2021.

His named popped up in circles once Calipari left his position. Drew’s been the head coach of Baylor since the 2003-04 season and spent one season as Valparaiso’s head coach in 2002-03 before making the move to Waco.

Since taking over BU, he is 446-244 as a head coach, winning a national title three years ago and has made three straight Round of 32 games in the NCAA Tournament. The only year Drew led Baylor beyond the Elite Eight was 2021, eventually winning the national title, but he has made the regional final round three different years.

Drew’s name was one of the first to come up once news broke of Calipari’s reported decision to leave for Arkansas.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel has also emphasized Drew as a very likely name in this search:

“In a more realistic candidate list, I’d take a look at Scott Drew at Baylor. He and Mitch Barnhart have a relationship going back to the bubble NCAA Tournament. Baylor, obviously, won that 2021 NCAA Tournament. Mitch Barnhart was the committee chair, and he was in the Baylor hotel and he was assigned to the Bears’ team. So they spent a month together. Everyone remembers how much time you spent together in the bubble.

“I think because Scott Drew listened to Louisville, he’d give Kentucky a listen. And Kentucky has more financial metal, they have more resources and they have a better league moving forward. That’s something Scott Drew is likely to entertain.”