Bauman was born in 2000 in Bellingham, Washington, and grew up in the north end of Sumas, right beside the Canadian border neighbouring Abbotsford; he qualified for Canadian citizenship through his mother who was born there.[2][3] He attended Nooksack Valley High School where he was a standout quarterback on the football team.[4] He became a starter early in his sophomore year and ultimately set school records with 7,437 passing yards, 65 passing touchdowns and 26 rushing touchdowns.[4] He was named first-team All-Northwest Conference in his last two years and totaled 2,914 passing yards with 27 touchdowns to three interceptions as a senior.[4] He committed to play college football for the Montana State Bobcats.[4]
College career
Bauman redshirted as a true freshman at Montana State in 2018, completing his only pass in his only game.[2] He won the starting quarterback job for the 2019 season.[5] However, he was benched after only three games.[2][6] He ended the season having completed 41-of-85 pass attempts for 450 yards and one touchdown.[2] He battled injuries afterwards and only appeared in three games in the rest of his tenure at Montana State – each in 2021 when he completed all four of his pass attempts for 23 yards and one touchdown.[2][6] He entered the NCAA transfer portal in 2022.[7]
Bauman transferred to the Augustana Vikings in South Dakota and won the battle for the starting quarterback role, although he remained limited by injuries throughout the season.[8] He appeared in a total of eight games and completed 111 of 195 pass attempts for 1,282 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with rushing for an additional 250 yards.[9] He remained starter in 2023 and appeared in 13 games, passing for 2,878 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to nine interceptions, along 322 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 99 carries.[10]
All values from South Dakota and Minnesota Pro Day[11]
Bauman was eligible for both the 2024 NFL draft and 2024 CFL draft, being one of three quarterback invites to the CFL Combine.[12] After going unselected in the NFL draft, he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent.[13][14] Bauman was expected to be a late round CFL draft selection, however, he went unselected in CFL draft. He was waived by the Chargers on August 12, 2024.[15]