Baldwin was born on September 15, 1997 in Barrow County, Georgia. He attended Bethlehem Elementary School for kindergarten until fifth grade, and Haymon Morris Middle School for sixth grade until eighth grade, where he ran track and played football alongside playing basketball. Baldwin then attended Apalachee High School where he started his first game in high school as a freshman. The rest of his freshman year he remained a starter and led the team to the state playoffs while being the third leading scorer. His sophomore year he led Apalachee High School once again to the state playoffs while being named to the AAAAA All-State Team while averaging 26.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. As a junior, Baldwin averaged 27.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and leading Apalachee to the Sweet Sixteen of the state tournament. As a junior Baldwin once again was named to the All-State team while being named the Region 8-AAAAA Player of the Year. In his senior year in high school, he was again named to the All-State Team and Region 8-AAAAA Player of the Year. He averaged 29.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Baldwin chose Butler University over schools such as Ole Miss, Clemson, and Providence. Baldwin was ranked 13th in the GA Class of 2016 by ESPN. 24-7 Sports gave Baldwin a.8967 composite score ranking him 158th nationally and 10th in GA. Rivals.com ranked Baldwin 123rd nationally.
College career
As a freshman at Butler University, Baldwin worked his way into the starting lineup and was named a unanimous selection to the 2017 Big East All-Freshman Team. In his freshman year at Butler, Baldwin averaged 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while playing 26.9 minutes per game. During his freshman season Baldwin made a game-winning field goal against Northwestern on November 11, 2016. He had a late game steal and layup that proved vital to Butler's upset of then #1 Villanova on January 4, 2017, Butler's first win against a #1 ranked team at Hinkle Fieldhouse. On January 17, Baldwin scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Xavier, and had another late game steal in the 83–78 Butler win. Baldwin switched to point guard as a sophomore and had a promising early season. He tied the score with a late three-pointer in a November 26 game against Ohio State, a 67–66 Butler win in overtime. He had 31 points in a 91–89 win against Georgetown in double overtime on December 27. In the Big East Tournament, Baldwin scored a then-career-high 32 points to edge the Bulldogs past Seton Hall 75–74. He averaged 15.7 points and 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore. As a junior, Baldwin averaged 17.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Big East. Despite his improvement, the Bulldogs missed the NCAA Tournament. In his senior season, Baldwin was limited in the first two games with a rib cartilage injury. He scored 31 points in a 67–58 win over Ole Miss on December 3. On January 24, 2020, Baldwin scored 31 points including the last nine points in regulation and collected a season-high eight rebounds in a 89–85 overtime win over Marquette. He had 17 points and eight rebounds on February 5, and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Villanova 79–76. Baldwin injured his ankle in the first half of a loss to Creighton on February 23. On March 7, Baldwin scored a career-high 36 points and hit the game-winning three-pointer with a second remaining in a 72–71 win over Xavier. At the conclusion of the regular season, Baldwin was selected to the First Team All-Big East.
