David Bailey attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California where he was a dominant defensive player. As a senior in 2021, he registered 54 tackles and 15.5 sacks and was named The Orange County Register Defensive Player of the Year. The four-star recruit played in the 2022 All-American Bowl and during his senior season, he committed to Stanford University.
Bailey became a day one starter for Stanford and overall he played in 11 games with nine starts and had 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He had less tackles in his sophomore season but more sacks, collecting 34 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 10 starts for the Cardinals.