Canadian wing Dionycius Bakare becomes Cal's first 2026 commitment

Dionycius Bakare has Cal on the board for 2026. The three-star wing from Vancouver announced his pledge Wednesday to become the first commitment for the Bears in the cycle. The 6-foot-5, 170-pound prospect was previously committed to Penn State before backing off that decision last month.

The Bears immediately jumped in with an offer on Sept. 11, and Wednesday he announced his decision.

Mark Madsen and his staff have been working to add the first piece to the 2026 class. Many of Cal’s top targets have recently opted to join other programs. The Bears have been a finalist for several recruits who made decisions in recent weeks.

Bakare represents a change in momentum for the Bears as he stacked a number of high major offers throughout his recruitment. The attacking guard will head to Berkeley with plenty of potential as a scorer with his ability to slash to the basket.

The new Cal commit previously played at The Phelps School in Pennsylvania but is playing his senior season at CIA Bella Vista in Arizona. Cal, Illinois, Alabama and Kentucky were the schools Bakare previously announced as his top four.

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Bakare sees recruitment take shape following decommitment

Bakare committed to the Nittany Lions back in July. His move to Phoenix certainly put him a lot farther from State College. He quietly backed away from his commitment in September before seeing an influx of new offers.

Cal was among a group of schools that offered him shortly after he backed off his pledge. USC and Illinois offered that same day. Seton Hall, Alabama and UTEP offered him not long after the Bears and other schools jumped into the mix.

Bakare originally picked Penn State over offers from SMU, South Florida, Arizona State and Washington.

The new Cal commit was particularly impressive over the summer on the Nike EYBL circuit. Bakare averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and one steal across 13 games with UPlay Canada. He averaged 18.8 points over the final six games of his travel season.

The Bears remain a finalist for one of Bakare’s teammates at Bella Vista. Four-star wing Vaughn Karvala announced Cal as one of his three finalists Thursday. The Bears are part of the group along with Indiana and Xavier.