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Baylor Basketball Starts Off Class of 2026 With a Big Commitment

Originally posted on Heartland College Sports
By Joe Tillery | Last updated May 27, 2025 8:02 PM ET

On Tuesday, Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears added their first player to the Class of 2026, with the commitment of four-star forward Elijah Williams.

Williams, a 6-foot-6 small forward from San Antonio, Texas, committed to the Bears over offers from seven different programs, including Arizona, Missouri, Oregon, Notre Dame, Washington, and more.

NEWS: Top-40 junior Elijah Williams, the son of longtime NBA player and coach Monty Williams, has committed to Baylor. He visited the Bears’ campus earlier this month.

“[Scott Drew] made Elijah a priority and that meant the world to me,” Monty Williams told @PaulBiancardi. pic.twitter.com/ZNkGIomRn9
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) May 27, 2025

Coming out of TMI Episcopal in the Class of 2026, Williams is listed as a four-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 36th-ranked player. He also checks in as the 15th-ranked player at his position and the fourth-ranked player in the state of Texas.

Williams isn’t the only elite athlete in his family, as his father, Monty Williams , was a first-round pick in the 1994 NBA Draft and played nine seasons in the league before moving into coaching. Williams was most recently seen on NBA sidelines as head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2023-24, before being fired, when he elected to move to coach his son at TMI Episcopal.

ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla chimed in on the addition, saying, “Baylor’s issue the last couple of seasons is they had too many players develop quickly for the NBA. A good problem to have. I sense that 26-27 will be a Bears’ Renaissance once again.”

This article first appeared on Heartland College Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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