Prospect Spotlight: Braxton Bayless (2020)

Sean Bock

March 16, 2020 @ 03:39 PM

One of the biggest risers last week at the State Tournament was Ankeny 2020 guard [player_tooltip player_id="801834" first="Braxton" last="Bayless"]. Bayless willed Ankeny to a State Championship, and averaged 22.7 points in the three games at Wells Fargo, including a 41-point outburst in the quarterfinal victory over Iowa City West. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qgK5tlNL4D0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> "The keys factors for our state run were playing the best team ball we could and winning the rebounding battle since every team was taller," Bayless told Prep Hoops. "I feel like we shot the lights out of the ball and everyone on the team stepped up in the right moments of the tournament and everyone just had to play their role." Bayless holds offers from multiple JUCO programs including DMACC, Kansas City-Kansas Community College, Kirkwood, and Colby Community College. Bayless also holds offers from Missouri Baptist and Iowa Lakes. Right now, Bayless is still deciding whether or not he wants to the JUCO route or play a prep year somewhere. His father, former Iowa State guard Ron Bayless, is in talks with a number of Prep schools. On the season, Bayless averaged 22.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. "Colleges like that I can score when I need but like to get my teammates involved and find them as much as I can," Bayless said. Bayless has no timeline for a decision, and doesn’t seem to be in a huge rush with things. He’s hoping to hear from a few more schools, and will decide things in the next couple of months. One of Bayless’ best traits is his leadership and poise on the floor. Bayless was a calming factor on the floor for Ankeny this season and was huge throughout the postseason for the Hawks. He certainly has the makeup and potential to be a D1 guard in a few years.