Brotherly Love: Dylan and Kayden Mingo Give Baylor a Potent Family Connection

“Honestly, I just feel like this opportunity is a blessing,” Dylan Mingo told Hoops HQ. “I’m excited to play again with my brother against high-level teams in the Big 12 because we have great chemistry together. I love how the Baylor coaches trusted me even after I didn’t pick them first. That means a lot.

“The way they produce quality guards every year who go to the NBA is really impressive, and they made me feel comfortable and are coaches I feel like I can trust.”

A 6-foot-5 guard with a 6-11 wingspan, Dylan Mingo was the second-best available Class of 2026 recruit behind Tyran Stokes, who committed Tuesday to Kansas. The New York native missed most of his senior season with an ankle injury, but last summer he averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals for the PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL Circuit. He was also named MVP of the 2025 NBPA Top 100 Camp.

“I recently got fully cleared and have been working out and getting back in the flow of things,” he says. “I’m feeling fine, and the talk about me redshirting next season was just a rumor. I’m a winner and a tall guard who can do a lot of things and plays for others. I’m eager to learn how to play on and off the ball with other great guards at Baylor.”

Kayden Mingo described his younger brother as a talented, all-around guard.

“He’s very versatile and can play on and off the ball,” Kayden told Hoops HQ. “Defensively, he’s a very good defender with long arms and gets his chest out really well when guarding and sliding his feet and keeps his guy out in front. Offensively, he can get in the paint, hit the open shot and shoot it off the dribble and off the catch. He’s a good scorer at all three levels and is very good at making reads off the pick-and-roll.”

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The highest-rated recruit in Penn State history, Kayden Mingo averaged 13.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals this season while starting all 28 games as a freshman for the Nittany Lions. The 6-foot-3 guard topped the Big Ten in steals while also leading the team in assists and finishing second in scoring. He had a career-high 24 points at Oregon and dished out a personal-best eight assists against Ohio State.

“I feel like Baylor is a special place,” Kayden said. “It’s a Christian school, and that’s important to me and my family. I knew Baylor was the place I wanted to be, and being able to play with my brother is the cherry on top. There’s nobody else I’d rather be able to play with, nobody who knows me better than my brother, and nobody who knows him better than me.

“We’ve been through many battles together, and I feel like the chemistry we have can really help move the program forward.”

Prior to his time at Penn State, Kayden Mingo was ranked No. 34 nationally in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports and was named the Gatorade New York Player of the Year as a senior. That season, he led LuHi to the Throne High School National Championship, Chipotle Nationals quarterfinals and Nike EYBL Scholastic League title game.

The Mingo’s oldest brother, Dalique, played college hoops at Howard from 2014-18, while their father, William, was a football player for Delaware State. Kayden Mingo is eager to make an impact for longtime Baylor coach Scott Drew.

“I’ll bring leadership at the point guard position and be a guy who runs the show and sets the table for others and makes plays,” he said. “I’m very good at getting into the paint. I’ll shoot the three better this year for sure, and I’ll continue to guard the ball at a high level, and I’ll rebound from the guard position.”

This marks the sixth straight recruiting cycle that Baylor, which recently missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, has had a five-star recruit. The Bears expect to return starting guard Isaac Williams IV (10.4 points per game) as well as a trio of bigs who redshirted in High Point transfer Juslin Bodo Bodo and freshmen Maikcol Perez and Mayo Soyoye. Bodo Bodo was a two-time Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Freshman wing Andre Iguodala II, the son of four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala, also redshirted for them this past season.

Dylan Mingo joins four-star wing Elijah Williams, the son of former Notre Dame star and NBA player/coach Monty Williams, from TMI Episcopal in San Antonio as the second member of Baylor’s 2026 prep recruiting class. The Bears have also added Liberty sharpshooter Brett Decker Jr. (16.9 points per game), Yale forward Isaac Celiscar (13.2 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) and UAB big man Evan Chatman (8.8 points, 8.8 rebounds per game) via the portal.

Kayden Mingo (No. 24) and Celiscar (No. 46) are both in Hoops HQ’s most recent transfer portal rankings. The older Mingo has high expectations next season for the Bears, who had a stellar backcourt with several future pros when they won the 2021 national championship.

“In time, we will learn more about each other and come together as a team,” he said. “I have no doubt that we will have a good team. Our main goal is winning a national championship, and we will do whatever it takes to do that.”

The younger Mingo echoed those comments as the brothers are ready to reunite at Baylor.

“I think we’re going to be a selfless group and a team that plays for each other,” Dylan said. “Our goal is to win a lot of games and win a national championship.”