Matthew Mayer withdraws from NBA Draft, to transfer from Baylor

Former Baylor wing Matthew Mayer has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and intends to transfer to a new school for the 2022-23 season, according to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria. A four-year player for the Bears, he is already among the most coveted players in the transfer portal.

Mayer started 33 games for the Bears this past season, averaging career highs with 9.8 points, five rebounds and 1.2 steals. He has already received interest from Texas Tech, North Carolina, USC, Memphis, Alabama, Arkansas and Illinois.

A former four-star prospect, Mayer ranked as the No. 102 overall player and No. 31 small forward in the 2018 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He opted to attend Baylor over offers from Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas and others.

By declaring for the NBA Draft, Matthew Mayer was able to participate in the NBA Combine from May 16-22. He then had until June 1 to remove his name from the draft in order to remain eligible for the next college basketball season. The 2022 NBA Draft is not set to take place until June 23.

Mayer played a major role Baylor’s success over the past few years, including the 2020-21 season when Baylor won their first national championship in program history. Although this past season was his first as a starter, he still made plenty of impact prior to that, averaging 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds across 15.5 minutes throughout his entire college career.

Mayer told Zagoria that he is still undecided on where he wants to attend college for his final season. Wherever he ends up, however, he is sure to make a big impact. The Bears, which also lose starting point guard James Akinjo to the NBA Draft, will surely miss him in 2022-23.