Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
.png&width=100&type=webp)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Skyler Coblentz
Baumann brings elite shooting to Lopes
4/18/2022 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Phoenix native transfers from Georgia to close collegiate career
Noah Baumann is as good of a perimeter shooter as there is in college basketball with more experience than most returning players.
That served the Phoenix native well in knowing what he wanted in the way of winning, program fit and location to sign with Grand Canyon for his final season.
Baumann's basketball journey is coming full circle from being a Desert Vista High School graduate in 2017 to two seasons at San Jose State, a redshirt year and Elite Eight season at USC and last season at Georgia to finishing his collegiate career with the Lopes next season.
Baumann, a 6-foot-6, 208-pound sharpshooter with 65 career starts, ranked 19th among all Division I players this season for career 3-point percentage (42.6%) and 10th among those with at least 400 attempts. He sits 148 points away from 1,000 career points as he joins GCU.
"I want to be in front of as many people I know as possible and win a championship," Baumann said. "I've been around programs that haven't been the best, but you live and you learn. I know what a good program is like and I know what a bad program is like. I know GCU has a great foundation with Jovan (Blacksher Jr.) and Gabe (McGlothan) and dudes who are hungry to win a championship. That's all you can ask for. Mainly, in one word, it's home."
Baumann still remembers how he paired with Blacksher for scrimmages one day at his Phoenix high school and won every game because of how he easily they clicked with each other. Baumann also got to know the basketball staff last year when he was considering a transfer, but the timing did not work out before he picked Georgia.
"Jovan's just one of those guards who can pass first, defensive-minded, makes the right play, scores when he needs to," Baumann said. "He's a true point guard and that's really attractive for a shooter like me who's always running the floor and trying to find ways to get open."
Baumann averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game last season for Georgia, where the former high school combo guard shifted into a stretch power forward role. He made 40.7% of his 3s and a career-best 82.5% of his free throws to record 10 double-figure scoring games, including a 25-point performance against East Tennessee State.
"We're thrilled that Noah decided to come to GCU and come back home to Phoenix," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We feel he's one of the best, if not the best shooter, in the country. He's 6-6 with a 6-9 wingspan, which allows him to get his shot off against taller defenders. We like the versatility and we think he can play multiple positions for us."
Baumann grew up in Phoenix as GCU was in its Division I transition period, but he has been home enough to appreciate the rapid growth of the campus and GCU Athletics.
"You can't be in Phoenix and not see the GCU fan base, the videos, the Havocs going crazy on social media," Baumann said. "You always pay attention to that. If I'm being honest, all the schools I've been at have been football schools. There are programs on the rise, but it's not the main focus that GCU is and all the crazy fans that go to GCU games. I can't see any comparison at all."
Baumann was drawn to the idea of having family and friends be part of that environment while taking on a leadership role after being in three other college programs over five years. He is a rare six-year player because of a redshirt season in 2019-20 and the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver.
The timing works well for Baumann to be in his hometown with October nuptials approaching for him and his finacée, Desert Vista classmate and Miami (Ohio) softball player Mackenize Moore.
"The coaches and players are excited to win and that's exciting for someone that wants to come there and win," Baumann said. "I want to help them out and be an option for them. I just think Bryce Drew is a really good coach. Bryce Drew has been around people I know who say great things about him. He was a shooter in the NBA and I want to be a pro basketball player."
That served the Phoenix native well in knowing what he wanted in the way of winning, program fit and location to sign with Grand Canyon for his final season.
Baumann's basketball journey is coming full circle from being a Desert Vista High School graduate in 2017 to two seasons at San Jose State, a redshirt year and Elite Eight season at USC and last season at Georgia to finishing his collegiate career with the Lopes next season.Baumann, a 6-foot-6, 208-pound sharpshooter with 65 career starts, ranked 19th among all Division I players this season for career 3-point percentage (42.6%) and 10th among those with at least 400 attempts. He sits 148 points away from 1,000 career points as he joins GCU.
"I want to be in front of as many people I know as possible and win a championship," Baumann said. "I've been around programs that haven't been the best, but you live and you learn. I know what a good program is like and I know what a bad program is like. I know GCU has a great foundation with Jovan (Blacksher Jr.) and Gabe (McGlothan) and dudes who are hungry to win a championship. That's all you can ask for. Mainly, in one word, it's home."
Baumann still remembers how he paired with Blacksher for scrimmages one day at his Phoenix high school and won every game because of how he easily they clicked with each other. Baumann also got to know the basketball staff last year when he was considering a transfer, but the timing did not work out before he picked Georgia.
"Jovan's just one of those guards who can pass first, defensive-minded, makes the right play, scores when he needs to," Baumann said. "He's a true point guard and that's really attractive for a shooter like me who's always running the floor and trying to find ways to get open."
Baumann averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game last season for Georgia, where the former high school combo guard shifted into a stretch power forward role. He made 40.7% of his 3s and a career-best 82.5% of his free throws to record 10 double-figure scoring games, including a 25-point performance against East Tennessee State.
"We're thrilled that Noah decided to come to GCU and come back home to Phoenix," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "We feel he's one of the best, if not the best shooter, in the country. He's 6-6 with a 6-9 wingspan, which allows him to get his shot off against taller defenders. We like the versatility and we think he can play multiple positions for us."
Baumann grew up in Phoenix as GCU was in its Division I transition period, but he has been home enough to appreciate the rapid growth of the campus and GCU Athletics.
"You can't be in Phoenix and not see the GCU fan base, the videos, the Havocs going crazy on social media," Baumann said. "You always pay attention to that. If I'm being honest, all the schools I've been at have been football schools. There are programs on the rise, but it's not the main focus that GCU is and all the crazy fans that go to GCU games. I can't see any comparison at all."
Baumann was drawn to the idea of having family and friends be part of that environment while taking on a leadership role after being in three other college programs over five years. He is a rare six-year player because of a redshirt season in 2019-20 and the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver.The timing works well for Baumann to be in his hometown with October nuptials approaching for him and his finacée, Desert Vista classmate and Miami (Ohio) softball player Mackenize Moore.
"The coaches and players are excited to win and that's exciting for someone that wants to come there and win," Baumann said. "I want to help them out and be an option for them. I just think Bryce Drew is a really good coach. Bryce Drew has been around people I know who say great things about him. He was a shooter in the NBA and I want to be a pro basketball player."
Bringing the kid home. 🤝
— GCU Men's Basketball (@GCU_MBB) April 19, 2022
Sharpshooter @NoahBaumann20 is running with the Lopes for his final year of eligibility. #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/qbIzFSBXhs
Makaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
Thursday, September 04
Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04