Braxton Bayless is headed to The Empire State.
The former Ankeny basketball star, who spent the last two seasons at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, verbally committed on Wednesday to play for Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Bayless also had offers from Western Illinois, UMBC and Southeast Missouri State.
“The recruiting process could have kept going a lot longer if I wanted it to, but the way it’s going right now with so many kids in the transfer portal, you have to take the best opportunity you get,” Bayless said. “It wasn’t going to get better than that.”
Bayless led Ankeny to the Class 4A state championship in 2020. He was named the captain of the all-tournament team.
A sophomore point guard, Bayless helped Indian Hills to a 27-6 record this season. The Warriors won the NJCAA Region XI and NJCAA North Central District Championship while putting together a 13-game winning streak before falling to Northwest Florida State, 65-64, in the second round of the NJCAA DI Tournament.
Bayless averaged 9.0 points and a team-high 4.1 assists per game while leading Indian Hills with an 84.3 percent clip from the free-throw line, the top mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. He scored in double figures 14 times on the year and made a game-winning buzzer-beater to knock off No. 7 Southeastern on the road.
Bayless was a second-team all-region pick.
“So excited for Braxton Bayless!” tweeted Indian Hills coach Hank Plona. “Braxton gave Indian Hills everything he had for two years. He is going to be a great player at Niagara! (He is) always in that group of very, very special players that we’ve had the chance to coach.”
Niagara is a member of the Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Purple Eagles play their home games at the 2,400-seat Gallagher Center.
In 2014, the playing surface was named “Layden Court” in honor of former Niagara coach Frank Layden and his wife, Barbara. Layden coached the Purple Eagles from 1968 to 1976, leading the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1970. He then went on to a 23-year coaching career in the NBA, most notably with the Utah Jazz.
The Purple Eagles are coming off a 14-16 season that ended with a 61-58 loss to Monmouth in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships. They are coached by former Duke player Greg Paulus.
“I love the young coaching staff they have down there and what they have going on!” Bayless said. “They have only made me feel like family since the first times we talked. And I’m excited to play with a good team which has a real good chance to try and make a run at March Madness.”