Former walk-on guard Braedon Bayer to transfer from Syracuse
Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer
Braedon Bayer played more than six key minutes down the stretch of SU's Round of 32 win over Michigan State.
Syracuse guard Braedon Bayer will transfer from the program for his fifth and final year of eligibility, he announced Tuesday night on Instagram. He is the second SU player to transfer in as many days, joining former forward Matthew Moyer, who announced on Monday that he will transfer.
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Bayer, a 6-foot-4 native of Lagrangeville, New York, played in nine games and tallied 17 minutes on the floor during the 2017-18 season. He went from little-known reserve to key role player in Syracuse’s Round of 32 win over Michigan State. When guard Frank Howard fouled out with 6:29 left, the 11th-seeded Orange trailed third-seeded MSU by four points. But Bayer recorded a key block on MSU star and likely NBA lottery selection Miles Bridges in the 55-53 victory.
“To be put in that position, to stay focused and keep this team going, that was phenomenal,” Syracuse associate head coach Adrian Autry said after the game.
Bayer was playing Division III hoops in Iowa just more than two years ago, but he had a steal and forced two jump balls during the final six minutes of the last win of SU’s season. He preserved the Sweet 16 run and set up a matchup with No. 2 Duke.
For much of the season, Bayer played the opponent’s high-post man in SU practices. He mimicked what the opposition’s post players may do, giving SU starters an idea of what they might see in the upcoming game. Once former graduate transfer Geno Thorpe left the program in December and Howard Washington sustained a season-ending injury, Bayer became the first guard off the bench.
“Braedon’s pretty good,” Boeheim said in January.
In a brief phone conversation Tuesday night, Bayer’s father, Greg, said that Braedon transferred because he knew his scholarship would last for only the 2017-18 season.
Throughout the season, Greg said, Bayer knew in the back of his mind that he would probably explore a graduate year for the 2018-19 season. Braedon was aware that he would probably not play much next season, and his goal is to “get some playing time either at a high-Division I school or at a mid-major program.”
On Sunday, Bayer texted Boeheim and asked to meet with him in his office. They met on Monday afternoon at around 3 p.m., before a 4 p.m. team meeting. Boeheim told Bayer during the 15-minute conversation that he would “do everything he possibly can do to help” him find a new school for which to play. As Bayer was walking out of Boeheim’s office, Boeheim smiled and told him that he had played a nice game against Michigan State.
“He wanted the opportunity to play and show his talents,” Greg said. “I think the Michigan State game opened some doors for him.”
Bayer had already spoken with five coaches on Tuesday at the “pretty good D-I level,” Greg said. At least one school is in the Atlantic 10 conference. They are all in the Northeast, Greg said.
Bayer will complete the spring semester at SU and graduate in May.
Two years ago, Bayer watched Syracuse’s Final Four run from his bed in his South Campus apartment. Before that, he worked out every day at 6 a.m. for six weeks with former SU star and NBA draft pick Tyler Lydon and Autry. He wanted to play at Syracuse after a season and a half at D-III Grinnell College.
By summer 2016, Lydon told former Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins that Bayer “wasn’t just going to be a typical walk-on,” Bayer recalled. He earned a walk-on spot, then became a scholarship player after Thorpe left.
Other possible next destinations for Bayer could include Binghamton and Fordham, both schools that showed interest in him as a high school player.
Published on March 27, 2018 at 9:35 pm
Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21
