Baylor Scheierman and Dalton Knecht: From small-school stars to March Madness heroes

DETROIT — The path Baylor Scheierman took to Creighton in some ways resembles the one Dalton Knecht took to Tennessee.

From mid-major stars to All-Americans meeting in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA tournament.

“It just shows that you have to run your race,” Scheierman said Thursday. “Everybody's different.”

The journey for one will end after Friday night’s Midwest region matchup between the third-seeded Bluejays (25-9) and 2-seeded Volunteers (26-8). Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 10:09 p.m. or 20 minutes after the conclusion of No. 1 seed Purdue and No. 5 seed Gonzaga at Little Caesars Arena.

But the path each took to get to this point reflects the new-age success college basketball players can find in the transfer portal era.

“They're both great stories of perseverance and tremendous work ethic,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Obviously they've both had great years. … (Knecht) and Baylor, their journeys are similar in a lot of ways. To watch their growth and development from where they were as freshman in college to where they are today is really a testament to their work ethic.”

Scheierman’s route to Creighton began about two hours away from Omaha in Aurora, Nebraska, where he was a standout high school quarterback and grew nearly 10 inches from his freshman season of basketball until he committed to play for South Dakota State — his only Division I offer.

In three seasons with the Jackrabbits, Scheierman's game and minutes progressed. He broke out as a sophomore in 2020-21 with 15.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and nearly four assists per game in the pandemic-shortened season. The following season, he collected 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists to earn Summit League Player of the Year honors and lead SDSU to the conference regular season and postseason titles and a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

That success led Scheierman to test the NBA draft process briefly, before entering the transfer portal and returning to his home state.

“Going through the transfer portal is one of the best decisions I made, and I'm very happy with how it all played out,” he said Thursday. “I wanted to go to a place where I thought that I could grow as a player and a place that I thought fit the way that I played. When I first entered the transfer portal, I wasn't really thinking about anything specific. But once Creighton had reached out, I knew that I wanted to come back home.”

Last season, his first with the Bluejays, Scheierman averaged 12.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

After returning for his extra season of eligibility with the NCAA waiver for 2020-21, the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Scheierman blossomed into a third-team All-America and first-team All-Big East selection by averaging a career high 18.3 points with 9.1 rebounds and four assists.

“I felt like just being here at Creighton these last two years and playing in the Big East the last two years and against a lot of the top competition in college basketball has elevated my game to just a different level than it was in the Summit League,” Scheierman said.

Knecht’s route to Knoxville was even more circuitous, beginning with two years at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, about two hours from his hometown of Thornton. From there, the 6-6, 213-pound guard spent two years at Northern Colorado and sprung onto major colleges’ radar by posting 20.2 points and 7.2 rebounds as a fourth-year senior last season.

After entering the portal during the offseason, Knecht landed at Tennessee for his extra year of eligibility and has been better than advertised. His 21.1 points and 4.9 rebounds a game helped the Vols win their first outright Southeastern Conference regular season title since 2008. He earned first-team All-America honors.

“You can make multiple ways to get to one of the best programs in the nation,” Knecht said Thursday. “I think it just shows that you don't have to be the highest-rated kid.”

In Creighton's first- and second-round wins, Scheierman had 15 points and 13 rebounds against Akron, and 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists against Oregon.

For Tennessee, Knecht posted 23 points and eight rebounds against St. Peter's in the first round, and 18 points and nine rebounds against Texas to send the Vols to Detroit.

“In this tournament, you see players that play at different levels that can shine when the big lights are on them,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “I think both of those guys have made just unbelievable impacts on their teams.”

Knecht also is a finalist for the Julius Erving Award that goes to the nation’s top small forward. One of Knecht’s competitors for the award? Someone he expects to be matched up against Friday.

Scheierman.

“For me, it’s just trying to make it as difficult as I can on him,” Scheierman said of Knecht. “Obviously, he's going to hit tough shots because he's a tremendous player.”

The Vols feel the same about Scheierman.

“Scheierman, when you see him, he's relentless,” Barnes said. “You can't stop him. He's got a great feel.”

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.