Recruiting: 2026 Cibola LB Commits to UNM Lobos

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Mexico has landed another elite 2026 prospect from the Albuquerque Metro Region.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cibola linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum']</strong>, who put together an impressive series of camp performances in June, committed to the Lobos on Friday, two weeks after being initially offered by UNM following an impressive camp performance at University Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baum, Prep Redzone New Mexico's No. 5 prospect in the 2026 class, joins Cleveland DE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1230420' first='Elijah' last='Richards']</strong> in committing to UNM.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baum got on the radar of a lot of teams when he made 123 tackles and 19.0 TFL for Cibola as a sophomore in 2023. He was named Prep Redzone's Class 6A Sophomore of the Year in 2023. He was limited by injuries last season but still managed to make 54 tackles for the Cougars in just 4 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baum will lead new look Cibola in 2025. The Cougars have a new head coach in David Howes, a Cibola alum who served as defensive coordinator for the Cougars in 2024 in his return to high school coaching following a stint on the UNM staff. Led by Baum, the Cibola defense could be nasty and tough to score on in 2025. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three of the top five prospects in our 2026 rankings have now announced commitments. No. 3 ranked prospect [player_tooltip player_id='853015' first='Alex' last='Rivera'] from Lovington has committed to Fresno State, while Richards (#4) and Baum (#5) have decided to stay close to home and play for the Lobos.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baum was also offered by New Mexico Highlands and Northern State University (Aberdeen, SD) in June. The latter offer came shortly after Baum's impressive performance at the North Dakota State camp in Fargo, ND.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He also camped at Texas, Texas A&amp;M, Texas Tech and Baylor in early June. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">COMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO!!🐺🐺BLESSED AND EXCITED FOR THIS NEXT CHAPTER! (JEREMIAH 29-11) ✝️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LOBO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LOBO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoLobos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoLobos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Eck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Eck</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachDaPrato?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachDaPrato</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/_CoachElliott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_CoachElliott</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachBignell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachBignell</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/natep4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@natep4</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_BerryFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_BerryFB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MacAustin_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MacAustin_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeSchleusner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LukeSchleusner</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coach_nowinsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coach_nowinsky</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/franks_coach?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@franks_coach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LoniFangupo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LoniFangupo</a> <a href="https://t.co/8G6xtBINVJ">pic.twitter.com/8G6xtBINVJ</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'] (@The__Baum) <a href="https://twitter.com/The__Baum/status/1941152214879478104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So blessed to receive an offer From The University Of New Mexico to continue my Athletic and Academic journey! Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Eck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Eck</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coach_nowinsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coach_nowinsky</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/natep4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@natep4</a> and the rest of the staff! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a> ✝️ <a href="https://t.co/ebInMFiaRd">pic.twitter.com/ebInMFiaRd</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'] (@The__Baum) <a href="https://twitter.com/The__Baum/status/1935762312260186274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WEEK 1-5 HIGHLIGHTS <br>53 TKL, 36 Solo, 5 TFL, 1 INT<br>LB | SS | TE<br>1 missed game due to injury <br>Blessed ✝️<a href="https://twitter.com/coachhowe1856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachhowe1856</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidHowes5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidHowes5</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachDmontoya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachDmontoya</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CipSena?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CipSena</a> <a href="https://t.co/aNX2qGwSlv">https://t.co/aNX2qGwSlv</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'] (@The__Baum) <a href="https://twitter.com/The__Baum/status/1837984030966358028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Very very Blessed to be Sophomore Of The Year <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a> <br>Psalm 107:1-3<br><br>Philippians 1:6<br><br>not satisfied. <a href="https://t.co/TVCDjg9M9j">pic.twitter.com/TVCDjg9M9j</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='854199' first='Hayes' last='Baum'] (@The__Baum) <a href="https://twitter.com/The__Baum/status/1734761038179152230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->