Rice transfer forward Caden Powell commits to Baylor

Former Rice forward Caden Powell has committed to Baylor, via the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Joe Tipton has confirmed. Powell transferred to Rice last offseason after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Wyoming.

Powell started in all 32 of Rice’s games this past season. He averaged 10.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and a block in 24.3 minutes per game. The 6-foot-10 junior shot 56.5% from the field. He’s only attempted one 3-pointer in his collegiate career.

Powell had perhaps his best performance of the season in Rice’s 84-72 loss to Memphis, who was ranked No. 18 at the time. In the loss, Powell tallied a season-high 19 points and seven rebounds while shooting 5-8 from the floor.

In his two years at Wyoming, Powell amassed 60 appearances and 31 starts. He averaged 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game during his sophomore season with the Cowboys.

Caden Powell played high school basketball at Midway (TX), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 269 overall player and No. 33 center in the 2022 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He is the fifth Baylor player to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason. The Bears currently boast the No. 7 transfer class in the 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings. The class is headlined by Oregon State transfer Michael Rataj, who was the No. 28 overall player in the portal this offseason.

Rataj averaged 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season while shooting 48.4% from the floor and 35.1% from 3-point range. With players like Rataj on his revamped roster, Baylor head coach Scott Drew will look to bounce back from an underwhelming 2024-25 season.

The Bears were ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 in Week 1 of the season. However, Baylor ultimately finished seventh in the Big 12 standings and was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Duke in the Round of 32.

Next season will be Drew’s 23rd as Baylor’s head coach. With so many fresh faces joining the program, Drew will have plenty of work to do this offseason.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.