River Baldwin is ready for her next adventure in her basketball journey.
The 6-foot-5 Baldwin is transferring from Florida State to NC State, after making her decision Monday night. Baldwin averaged 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game this past season for the Seminoles.
Baldwin will be earning her Florida State degree this summer in family and child sciences with a minor in psychology. She’ll have two years of eligibility remaining at NC State.
“I can stay in the ACC and I’ve played against them,” said Baldwin, 21. “Elissa Cunane’s development played a big role in that. I saw what she came out of high school as and now developed into the [WNBA Draft]. On top of that, they are a winning program.
“Coach [Wes] Moore is talking about expanding my game. To keep that post presence and expand that range a little bit.”
Baldwin expects to rotate at center with NC State’s Camille Hobby.
“I wanted to come into a program that is already pretty solid and not a rebuilding program,” Baldwin said. “I wanted to be successful on the court and in the classroom at the same time.”
Baldwin had set up five official visits, but ended up going to NC State this past weekend and also went to home-state Alabama. Vanderbilt, South Florida and. Connecticut were her other three finalists.
“I really like the Master’s program that they [NCSU] has because I want to work with special needs children,” Baldwin said. “I found a place that I can intern and I am looking forward to that as well.”
Baldwin was a big, big deal coming out of Andalusia (Ala.) Pleasant Home High, a town of 8,805 people. Florida State offered her freshman year of high school, and she was already committed by her sophomore campaign. She reflects back on how her hometown has shaped who she is today.
“It was kind of a cool atmosphere because everybody knows everybody,” Baldwin said. “Anything that is small news is big news in a small town. I’d see people in town and they’d be like, ‘I saw you in the newspaper. If I had a high school game, there’d be an article and everyone would see it. I guess everyone felt like they knew me in a way because they followed me.”
Standing 6-5 also meant she was easy to spot, but that helped her become comfortable with her height growing up.
“I was never super self conscious about it, but in middle school, it was a little hard,” Baldwin said. “As soon as I got in touch with my athletic side, I learned to love it. It’s helpful, but admired in the athletic community.”
Baldwin was good enough to be named a 2019 McDonald’s All-American in Chicago, which is where she met NC State junior small forward Jakia Brown-Turner.
ESPN’s Hoop Gurlz ranked her No. 27 overall in the class of 2019, and she averaged 24.9 points, 13.8 rebounds and 6.7 blocks per game. Baldwin also was a standout in volleyball and won the shot put title in Alabama.
“That was a super memorable thing for me,” said Baldwin on the McDonald’s Game. “That was one of the biggest honors I had in my basketball career. Being from a small town and not getting that recognition nationally early on, it was an honor. When they announced, I was like, ‘I won’t get it because nobody knows who I am from south Alabama.’”
Baldwin played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League at one point in high school and that helped her get seen and she also was invited to USA Basketball trials for various age groups. She finished her prep career with the Southern Starz traveling team.
Baldwin grew up a little under three hours from Florida State, and the recruiting relationship started when she attended camp there in the eighth grade.
The relationship with Florida State started to change this season, and then it culminated when coach Sue Semrau retired after being there since 1997. Baldwin went 51-29 during her three years at Florida State, but 0-4 against NC State. She still remembers her first trip to Reynolds Coliseum on Jan. 16, 2020. She had three points and four rebounds in 16 minutes of a 68-51 loss.
Seeing Reynolds Coliseum as a recruit was entirely different than playing there as an opponent.
“I was just like ‘Wow,’ because it is horrible to play here when you are not part of it,” Baldwin said. “I look forward to playing as part of the family.”
Baldwin started 19 of 82 games she played in and averaged 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 16.8 minutes per game in her three-year career. She cracked double figures in six games this past season, including going for 15 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes in a 68-55 loss at Florida on Dec. 12, 2021.
“All the friendships that I made here and being able to play with all my best friends,” said Baldwin on her favorite FSU moments. “That has been super fun. Even off the court, investing in the relationships I have here, I know they will last.”
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