Bauer is from South Western Sydney. Bauer's junior football was played with the Under 12s with the Wollondilly Redbacks until U12s, U17 with the Western Suburbs and Inner West Magpies in the
Sydney AFL. Bauer was a member of the
Sydney Swans Academy. After going undrafted in the AFL national draft, he began the 2022 season playing for
North Adelaide in the
SANFL. He was then drafted by with the club's first pick and the 10th selection overall in the
2022 mid-season draft. Bauer played the next year for the
Richmond reserves, notably kicking after-the-siren game winning goals in two separate matches during June 2023. He made his senior debut for Richmond in round 17 of the
2023 season, but suffered a match-ending hamstring injury less than two minutes into the game substituted of. After rehabilitating, he returned the senior team in round 21. Midway through the
2025 season, Bauer suffered an
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury while playing for Richmond's reserves team in the
Victorian Football League (VFL), which prematurely ended his season. After 12 games over 3 and a half seasons on the playing list, Bauer was delisted by Richmond at the end of the season. ==Statistics==