SEC schools standing out to 5-star C Baye Fall

Baye Fall has been near the top of the 2023 recruiting rankings for close to two years now. The 6-foot-10 mobile center has an endless motor that he couples with a silky soft touch around the rim. You likely won’t find a prospect in the country that gives every ounce of energy he has on the floor more than Fall. It’s one of the main reasons he’s so highly sought-after by plenty of Power 5 programs and recently finished up his third straight appearance at the Pangos All-American Camp, which took place earlier this week in Las Vegas.

Fall was tabbed to the Top 30 Cream of the Crop Game to close out the 2022 edition of the Pangos event following his usual and steady production across the four camp games. He averaged 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per outing for Team Notre Dame while shooting 72.6 percent overall (29-40) from the field. To cap it all off, he was the top scorer in the All-Star contest, dropping 26 points and 10 rebounds on 13-19 shooting before being named the co-MVP for the second straight year.

It was a typical trip to Las Vegas for the longtime five-star prospect.

2022 Pangos All-American Camp Cream of the Crop MVPs: Baye Fall and Tru Washington pic.twitter.com/FhcRlPvTWp

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 7, 2022

In terms of his recruitment, he’s hearing from plenty of high major schools. Arkansas, Texas, and Auburn appear to be leading the charge, with the likes of Seton Hall, Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Rutgers also involved. There is still some mutual interest with Kentucky that initially sparked this time last year with the hiring of assistant coach Chin Coleman, although it hasn’t been as serious as the schools mentioned above.

“Right now, we don’t talk that much, I don’t know if they’re talking to my parents,” Fall told KSR this week about Kentucky. “They came to my AAU game this year. It’s still always a good relationship with Coach Chin.”

When KSR spoke with Fall in April, he reiterated that his communication with Kentucky is still alive and that a possible visit was on the table sometime this summer. In Vegas, he touched on how UK’s ability to produce NBA players stands out to him.

“Just the tradition out there,” Fall added. “They’re known for producing pros, a lot of pros came out of there. And then the environment there too, it’s a pro-like environment, NBA-like. There’s not a lot of schools that are like that in the country and that stands out.”

A pair of SEC programs, Arkansas and Auburn, also have his full attention. Fall was in Fayetteville earlier this spring to check out the Razorbacks and has scheduled an official visit to check out Auburn next weekend. He’s a fan of how SEC basketball is fast-paced and takes advantage of pure athleticism, which plays to his strong suits. Not so coincidentally, he’s a fan of the conference’s more energetic coaches.

Arkansas: “It’s just the relationship we have and then the environment out there when I went there, it was really fun. They were pretty excited to have me there. I watched their practice and the game. Coach (Eric) Muss(elman) is a high, high-energy guy, and I like that about a coach.”

Auburn: “He’s (Bruce Pearl) the kinda coach I like. The coach that is gonna push you to do your best and how they helped Jabari Smith get to where he’s at right now. How they used him, that stands out to me a lot.”

Texas is another school high on his radar. Fall will take an official visit to see the Longhorns in September. He’s also been to Seton Hall this year and added that a trip to Rutgers will come in September, as well. Fall is open to the pro routes too, with the G League and Overtime Elite reaching out.

It’s yet to be seen if Kentucky will sneak Fall to Lexington for a visit, but it likely won’t be much longer before we know just how serious the relationship is between the two sides. Fall plans to drop a list of his top seven schools near the end of July and then commit some time during his upcoming senior season.