Eric Musselman and the Arkansas Razorbacks have made another five-star splash on the recruiting trail, landing the commitment and signature of long-time target and talented Class of 2023 big man Baye Fall.

The 6-10, 205-pound center chose the Hogs over a list of finalists that included Auburn, Seton Hall and Rutgers. He becomes the fifth in a growing list of five-star commitments for Arkansas during the Musselman era, joining Layden Blocker in the 2023 cycle and 2022 McDonald’s All-American trio Nick Smith, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh.

With a player rating of 0.9945, Fall is currently the third-highest rated commitment for Arkansas in the modern rankings era, behind current Razorback Nick Smith and long-time pro Al Jefferson, who never made it to campus.

A native of Senegal, Fall made his way to Colorado just a few years ago and quickly made a name for himself in the recruiting world. He currently ranks as the No. 16 overall prospect, No. 3 center and No. 1 player in his state, according to 247Sports.

Fall is off to a strong start to his senior campaign at Accelerated Prep in Denver (Colo.). In two wins to start the season, the big man notched a pair of double-doubles, going for 13 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks against 1 for 1 Prep and following up with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks against Balboa (Cali.).

Fall had a tremendous spring and summer on the grassroots scene, averaging 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game with the Colorado Hawks on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. He earned a spot in the Top 30 Cream of the Crop Game at the Pangos All-American Camp, averaged a double-double and earned all-star honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and received an invite to the Adidas All-American Camp.

In 10 games during his junior campaign at upstart Denver Prep Academy, Fall averaged 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game against some of the nation’s top competition on The Grind Session Elite Circuit. As a sophomore, Fall was named to Colorado Class 3A State Player of the Year and a First-Team Max Preps All-American while leading Lutheran (Parker) to its fourth state championship, averaging 22.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game on 65 percent shooting from the field.

QUOTES FROM COACH MUSS

“We are extremely excited about the addition of Baye Fall to our program,” Musselman said. “Baye has been a top priority for our coaching staff since the beginning of our tenure at Arkansas. He plays with contagious energy and is an excellent two-way player who can affect the game on both offen­se and defense. Baye fits our NBA/Arkansas mold with his versatility and being a positionless basketball player. We believe the pairing of Baye Fall with Layden Blocker can give Arkansas one of the most exciting freshman duos in the entire country next season.” - Arkansas Head Coach Eric Musselman

FALL'S COACH WEIGHS IN ON THE FUTURE HOG

"Baye is a guy who has an unlimited motor. He doesn't stop playing... ever. He's going to try to block every shot. Every time he gets the ball, he is going to try to score. He has that ability that you can't teach. I wish every player I coached had it. He can improve in some areas, but he knows that. He just has to polish up his footwork, work on his shot selection, and just think the game through more. But because he is such a beast on both ends of the floor, he gets away with so much because he plays so hard." - Accelerated Prep Head Coach Mike Haynes

SCOUTING REPORT

“Fall is a physically gifted big man with size, length, athleticism, and mobility. He runs the floor extremely well, can slide his feet laterally, and is a bouncy leaper. His best potential lies on the defensive end of the floor, where he is already a high-level rim protector who can block shots on and off the ball. He also moves exceptionally well laterally for his size, allowing him rare versatility as a pick-and-roll defender, who can even be switchable in certain situations. 

“Offensively, he’s a bouncy finisher around the rim and also has soft touch inside the paint, and maybe even some long-term floor-spacing potential. However, his overall approach can lack efficiency on that end. He rarely gets deep position or even makes himself as much of a lob-threat as he should be, and instead has a tendency to settle for a variety of fade-aways and other “tough twos.” Fall had an extremely high turnover rate through Adidas play with almost five turnovers per game and also tends to be an inconsistent defensive rebounder for his size. His biggest liability at the moment is a lack of strength. He’s very lean, in both his upper and lower body, and can get displaced easily on both ends of the floor and even bounce off of more physically developed big men.” - 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finklestein 

SEE THE NEW ADDITION IN ACTION

Arkansas fans who are excited to see the latest addition to the program live and in person will have the opportunity to do just that in the coming days as Fall is set to travel to the Natural State to compete in The Big Show Tip-Off Showcase at Fort Smith (Ark.) Northside on Saturday, November 19th. Fall’s Accelerated Prep squad will face national power Link Academy at 8 p.m. (CT) as the headliner of the five-game event.