Middletown native stars in NCAA championship game, helps Baylor to first basketball title

A former Middletown student, whose parents played basketball for the Middies, played a key role in Baylor University’s upset on previously undefeated Gonzaga on Monday night in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game.

MaCio Teague, 23, a senior at Baylor, scored 19 points in the 86-70 win in Indianapolis, the first men’s basketball title in school history.

Teague’s father, Sean, and mother, Barbara (Brooks) Teague, played for the Middies, as did his older brother.

“It was inevitable he would be a good player,” said Kee Edwards, principal at Miller Ridge Elementary and MaCio’s second-grade teacher at Taft Elementary.

Edwards called MaCio “a great student” who went from kindergarten to second grade.

Edwards watched the championship game and called Teague’s performance “a proud moment” because of all the hard work he has put into his academic and athletic career.

Teague had reached out to the Cincinnati Reds about possibly throwing out a first pitch before a game. After the championship game, the Reds tweeted: “Whoa, champ in the house! What do you say? Let’s get you out to GABP to show off that heater!”

Teague attended the Middletown City Schools District until junior high when his family moved to the Princeton School District. He then played at Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati where he averaged 14.2 points as a sophomore.

He then transferred to Walnut Hills High School where he averaged 22.4 points as a junior and 26.4 points as a senior, the highest in Division I in the state. He scored 51 points in a 96-48 win over Piqua High School at the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational in Kettering.

After high school, he played one season at Montverde Academy in Florida.

He played two seasons at University of North Carolina Ashville where he averaged 15.4 points as a freshman and 16.7 points as a sophomore.

Seeking “a bigger challenge,” Teague transferred to Baylor, Edwards said. He also had offers from Xavier, Louisville and Virginia.

He sat out the following year due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds, helping Baylor to a 26–4 record his junior season. He declared for the 2020 NBA draft before withdrawing and returning to Baylor for his senior season.

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