Riverside Academy’s Jared Butler, former Alabama signee, inks with Baylor

Courtesy: Baylor Athetics

WACO, Texas – Jared Butler, a consensus four-star recruit from Reserve, La., will join the 2018-19 Baylor men’s basketball team, head coach Scott Drew announced Sunday.

A 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard, Butler is a top-100 nationally ranked recruit. He’s ranked No. 75 nationally in the 2018 class by Scout.com, No. 88 by ESPN.com and No. 88 by 247Sports.com.

“Our staff built a great relationship with Jared and his family during his recruitment, and we know he’s a great fit for our program,” Drew said. “He’s an explosive guard with the ability to create for his teammates and score from all over the court, but more importantly, he’s a high character young man who will be a terrific teammate. We can’t wait to welcome him to the Baylor family.”

Butler will enroll at Baylor for the fall semester and explore options for immediate eligibility.

Butler was a three-year letterwinner and two-time all-state selection for head coach Timmy Byrd at Riverside Academy, the same school as former Baylor standout Rico Gathers. Ex-Baylor guard Tweety Carter also played for Byrd at another high school in southeast Louisiana.

Butler earned first team all-state honors after averaging 27.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 3.0 steals to lead the Rebels to a 33-2 record as a senior in 2017-18. As a junior in 2016-17, Butler averaged 20.4 points and 6.7 assists on his way to first-team all-state recognition from the Louisiana Sportswriters Association.

Baylor opens the 2018-19 season with four consecutive home games, beginning with the season opener on Nov. 6 vs. Texas Southern. The Bears then travel to the Emerald Coast Classic to take on Ole Miss and either Cincinnati or George Mason. BU also has marquee non-conference road games at Wichita State on Dec. 1, at Arizona on Dec. 15, and the Bears host SFA on Dec. 18 and Oregon on Dec. 21.

The Big 12 Conference schedule has not yet been released. Season tickets are available by calling the Baylor Athletics Ticket Office at 254-710-1000 or online at www.BaylorBears.com. Follow @BaylorMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for additional updates.