MILWAUKEE (AP) — Patrick Baldwin could have signed with just about any college basketball program in the country as one of the nation’s top-10 prospects in his class. He opted to stay home and play for his father at Milwaukee. His choice instantly made the Horizon League school one of the nation’s most interesting stories in this college basketball season. Baldwin was ranked seventh in his class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. He’s 6-foot-9 and can play multiple positions.

UNDATED (AP) — Oregon State running back B.J. Baylor leads the Pac-12 in rushing and the Beavers’ improved ground game is one of the main reasons the team is just a win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2013. Oregon State ranks seventh nationally for rushing offense and Baylor ranks seventh nationally for yards rushing per game. He’s one of a class of Pac-12 running backs who have hit their stride this season, joining Oregon’s Travis Dye and UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet. 

UNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press preseason women’s All-America team is out and Paige Bueckers of UConn is a unanimous choice. She was joined by fellow sophomore Caitlin Clark of Iowa; junior Aliyah Boston of South Carolina; and two seniors, NaLyssa Smith of Baylor and Rhyne Howard of Kentucky. Boston and Howard were on the preseason team last year. Bueckers was the first freshman to win the AP’s Player of the Year award as she helped UConn reach the Final Four last spring.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah will retire jersey No. 22 during its game against UCLA on Saturday to honor Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, friends and teammates who died nine months apart. The No. 22 will be the first jersey retired in program history. Jordan died at 19 in an accidental shooting on Christmas night 2020 and Lowe changed his number to honor his friend, who was also his teammate at West Mesquite High School in Texas. The 21-year-old Lowe was shot at a house party on Sept. 26, hours after Utah’s game against Washington State. He was laid to rest next to his friend earlier this month.

UNDATED (AP) — New Texas coach Chris Beard has assembled a virtual all-star team of transfers from across the country. The fifth-ranked Longhorns’ list of transfers includes Timmy Allen, Dylan Disu, Christian Bishop, Tre Mitchell, Devin Askew, Marcus Carr, Tristen Licon and Avery Benson. Allen, Carr and Mitchell each earned first-team all-conference honors for their former schools last season. Disu was the Southeastern Conference’s leading rebounder last year while playing for Vanderbilt. Transfers are a way of life now in college basketball, though the Longhorns stand out. The season begins Nov. 9.

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