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Baylor men’s basketball coach Scott Drew will remain with the Bears after Kentucky pursued him for its head-coaching vacancy. Drew became a target for the Wildcats following John Calipari’s departure for Arkansas.

In a statement Thursday, Drew said he looks forward “to working together to bring more championships to Waco.”

#JOY pic.twitter.com/JhxpsmHVOw

— Scott Drew (@BUDREW) April 11, 2024

Drew, 53, has been at the helm with Baylor for 21 seasons, leading the Bears to a 446-244 record, including a national championship in 2021. Baylor has reached 12 of the last 16 NCAA Tournaments, and has produced six first-round NBA Draft picks over that time, including Taurean Prince, Davion Mitchell, Jeremy Sochan and Keyonte George.

It’s the second time in a month that Drew has elected to remain at BU amid outside interest. He told The Athletic before the NCAA Tournament he and his family were happy at Baylor as speculation increased about interest from other schools, most notably Louisville.

Where Kentucky turns next remains to be seen. Alabama coach Nate Oats released a statement released a statement that he was not going anywhere. Dan Hurley, the Connecticut coach fresh of back-to-back national titles, told The Athletic “no way” he’d leave the Huskies. Billy Donovan, the Chicago Bulls coach who led Florida to consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007, said of his current job, “My total commitment and focus is here.”

Other coaches on The Athletic’s initial coaching candidates list for UK included Xavier’s Sean Miller, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, St. John’s Rick Pitino and BYU’s Mark Pope.

The opening remains relatively attractive. Calipari was one of the two highest-paid coaches in the country. Money should not be an issue — for anything. And of course, Kentucky is in the SEC. Coaching in one of the two conferences that will shape the future of all sports is a fairly secure position.

This story will be updated.

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(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)