Wesley Bailey

Early life

Bailey was born on April 26, 2001, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, growing up in the Ottawa community of Orleans. His mother was an immigrant from Jamaica and he has three sisters. His mother was killed while visiting Jamaica when Bailey was age five, and he afterwards was raised along with his twin sister by his uncle, before later moving in with a different uncle. He grew up playing football and began playing as a defensive end in 2019. He soon after decided to attend Clearwater Academy International in Florida. During the 2019 season there, Bailey posted 62 tackles and seven sacks. A three-star recruit, he initially committed to play college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers before flipping to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

College career

Bailey saw no playing time as a true freshman at Rutgers in 2020, then appeared in seven games while recording six tackles and a sack in 2021. In 2022, he started all 12 games at defensive end and led the team with 3.5 sacks while also recording 30 tackles. The following year, Bailey recorded 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs) and four sacks. Due to injuries, he only made four appearances during the 2024 season and took a redshirt. Bailey then transferred to the Louisville Cardinals for his final season of college football in 2025, totaling 39 tackles, seven TFLs and six sacks while starting 12 games. At Louisville, he played alongside his childhood friend Rene Konga. In his collegiate career, Bailey recorded 110 tackles, 22 TFLs and 15.5 sacks.