Corey Coleman is the Baylor Lariat’s 2015-2016 Male Athlete of the Year.
A 5-foot-11 junior from Richardson, TX., Coleman had the best season ever for a Baylor wide receiver.
Coleman helped lead the Bears to a 10-3 record, winning six games in the Big 12 Conference season to rank fourth in the conference and reach the Russell Athletic Bowl.
During the 2015 football season, Coleman broke the school record for touchdown receptions in a single season with 20. He accumulated 33 total in his three-year Baylor career, also good for a school record.
The national awards Coleman garnered this year include the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top receiver, unanimous All-Big 12 first team selection and unanimous All-America selection.
Coleman led all receivers in touchdowns and ranked ninth and third in receiving yards and receiving yards per game, respectively.
Coleman was a front-runner for the Heisman award for the first half of the season. Unfortunately, a sports hernia suffered during a game against Kansas State slowed his production and ultimately left him out of the race.
For his career, Coleman tallied 3,009 yards on 173 career receptions in addition to 651 yards and a TD on 25 kick returns as well as 164 rushing yards and a rushing TD.
Coleman became the first player in school history to have two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, doing it back to back in his sophomore and junior years.
Coleman declared for the NFL Draft, choosing to forego his senior year of eligibility to pursue his dream. He impressed at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine with his 4.40 40-yard dash time as a 40.5” vertical jump.
Coleman was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the no. 15 selection Thursday night in the 2016 NFL Draft, becoming the 23rd first round pick in Baylor history.
