Baylor’s Norchad Omier, Jeremy Roach Withdraw From NBA Draft
Norchad Omier and Jeremy Roach have reportedly withdrawn their names from the 2023 NBA Draft and will play next season for Baylor.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein filed the report on social media.
Both put their names in the NBA Draft process but maintained their college eligibility, giving them the chance to return to college for another season.
Both are expected to make a significant impact on the Bears next season.
Roach played his entire career at Duke before announcing his transfer to the Bears last month.
The former McDonald’s All-American averaged 14.0 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. This will be his final season of college eligibility. He guided Duke to a Final Four berth in Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement season.
Omier, a forward, spent his first two seasons with Arkansas State before transferring to Miami (FL) before the 2022-23 season. There, he helped the Hurricanes reach the Final Four for the first time in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season.
Omier announced his intention to transfer to Baylor earlier this month.
The Bears, who won the 2021 NCAA Tournament title, should be national title contenders again with Roach and Omier leading the way. The Bears are also returning guard Langston Love and forward Josh Ojianwua, among others. The Bears are also bringing in a huge recruiting class, headlined by five-star forward VJ Edgecombe from Long Island Lutheran in Glen Head, NY.
The Bears also avoided losing their long-time head coach, Scott Drew. He was courted heavily by Kentucky after John Calipari left that job to take over at Arkansas. Drew opted to remain at Baylor after his family toured Lexington and after a family discussion about the move. BYU’s Mark Pope — himself a Kentucky product — took the job.
