By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor
Wednesday was National Signing Day in the world of college sports and 61 high school/junior college athletes signed Letters of Intent to play at Baylor University.
Here are the names of the future Bears you could be rooting for during the next four years.
Women’s Basketball – 1
If you thought the Lady Bears couldn’t get any better, then get ready because Baylor will have the highest touted post in the country on its squad next year. The Lady Bears have officially inked five-star recruit Maryam Dauda, who was also ranked No. 13 overall by ESPN and No. 1 at the post position.
Maryam Dauda | Forward | Bentonville, Ark./Nigeria | Bentonville HS
Acrobatics and Tumbling – 12
The reigning national champions will add 12 well-rounded, talented athletes from five different states to their roster in the fall of 2021.
Layla Alexander | Tumbler | Waco | Homeschool
Bailey Baughn | Base/Tumbler | Austin | Lake Travis HS
Talia Delacruz | Tumbler | Clermont, Fla. | Lake Minneola HS
Jordan Gruendler | Top | San Antonio | Pearson Online Academy
Rakel Jeffries | Tumbler | Massillon, Ohio | Perry HS
Kacie Kier | Top | Clearwater, Fla. | Calvary Christian HS
Alaina LaRosa | Top/Tumbler | Lawrenceville, Ga. | Peachtree Ridge HS
Emilie Nelson | Tumbler | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Norwin HS
Mariah Polk | Base/Tumbler | Dallas, Ga. | Harrison HS
Maggie Smith | Tumbler | Katy | Obra D Tompkins HS
Gianna Vaiarelli | Tumbler | Delran, N.J. | Delran HS
Adelaide Vezzosi | Top/Tumbler | Brick N.J. | Donovan Catholic
Soccer – 6
Head coach Paul Jobson will have an extra deep roster in 2021 considering his seniors are also returning after the NCAA granted 2020 student athletes another year of eligibility due to COVID-19. Soccer will add six new players next fall, four of which are from the state of Texas.
Ava Colberg | Defender | Frisco | Memorial HS | Sting FC
Jordan Ryan | Forward | Troy, Mich. | Laurel Springs School | Vardar
Lorelai Stramrood | Defender | Tomball | Tomball Memorial HS | Challenge FC
Haven Terry | Forward | Missouri City, Texas | Ridge Point HS | Houston Dash
Sophie Wilson | Midfielder/Forward | Ames, Iowa | Ames HS | Iowa Rush
Kate Zimmerman | Defender | Houston | Clear Lake HS | Albion Hurricanes
Volleyball – 9
Baylor volleyball touts the best-ranked recruiting class in the Big 12 with eight new players signed, five of which will enroll early in the spring. The Bears add eight freshmen, four of which were named High School All-Americans, and one graduate transfer from the University of California — Berkeley.
Preslie Anderson | MB | Chandler, Ariz. | Hamilton HS | Cal
Alicia Andrew | MB | Ridgefield, Wash. | Ridgefield HS
Molly Kipp | S | Phoenix, Ariz. | Northwest Christian School
Faith Lynch | S/DS | Magnolia | Magnolia HS
Elise McGhee | OPP | San Antonio | Clark HS
Keagan Polk | L/DS | Southlake | Southlake Carroll HS
Kaitlyn Riley | MB | Delafield, Wis. | Catholic Memorial HS
Riley Simpson | OH/OPP | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Rampart HS
Ava Grace Haggard | MB | Prosper | McKinney Christian Academy
Softball – 7
Baylor softball added seven new players in their 2021 signing class, all of them from the state of Texas, with five of them hailing from the Central Texas area. Head coach Glenn Moore said that this class holds a lot of versatility and intelligence as well as lots of untapped potential.
Rylie Bouvier | C | Santa Fe, Texas | Santa Fe HS | Texas Dirt Divas
Emry McDonough | INF/UTL | Waco | Bosqueville HS | Texas Glory
Grace Powell | C | Crawford | Crawford HS | Centex Buzz
Caroline Rowatt | OF | Waco | Midway HS | Centex Buzz
Jenna Rowatt | INF | Waco | Midway HS | Centex Buzz
Ashlyn Wachtendorf | INF/OF | Lorena | Lorena HS | Centex Buzz
Kaci West | P/OF | Liberty | Liberty HS | Hotshots
Equestrian – 9
Baylor added nine new riders for the fall of 2021, with recruits from five states, three of them from Texas. Head coach Casie Maxwell said the incoming class will bring a lot of experience to a deep roster.
Molly Canfield | Jumping Seat | Chicago | Latin School of Chicago
Lauren Graves | Horsemanship | Plano | Fusion Academy
Gianna Pozzi | Horsemanship | Spring Valley, Ill. | Hall HS
Tatum Richey | Horsemanship | The Woodlands | North Florida Christian Academy
Alexis Rutledge | Horsemanship | Altoona, Iowa | Southeast Polk HS
Lauren Stebbins | Jumping Seat | Atlanta | Pace Academy
Caitlyn Upham | Reigning | Boerne | Grace Christian Academy
Nadalee Vazquez | Horsemanship | Acton, Calif. | Paraclete HS
Annie Vorhies | Jumping Seat | Canton, Ga. | The King’s Academy
Women’s Golf – 2
Baylor added two new golfers for the 2021 signing class, including an international recruit.
Mattingly Palmer | Georgetown | Georgetown High School
Antonia Matte | Santiago, Chile | Colegio Olimpio
Men’s Tennis – 2
Men’s tennis added two signees for 2021, including a four-star recruit in Justin Braverman. Interim head coach Michael Woodson said these future Bears will bring energy and speed to the program.
Justin Braverman | Naples, Fla. | Community School of Naples
Ethan Muza | Pittsburgh, Penn. | 21st Century Cyber Charter School
Men’s Golf – 2
Sixth-ranked Men’s golf added two players to their roster for the 2021-2022 season, both ranked in the top 50 nationally, including the No. 2 ranked high school golfer in Texas and the No. 1 ranked high school golfer in Indiana.
Zach Heffernan | Boerne | Sam Champion HS | Ranked No. 18
Drew Wrightson | Zionville, Ind. | Brebeuf Jesuit Prep School | Ranked No. 33
Baseball- 8
Baylor baseball added eight signees to an already deep roster that saw several seniors from the graduating class of 2020 return after having their season cut short due to the pandemic. All of Baylor’s 2021 incoming players hail from the state of Texas. Head coach Steve Rodriguez said he’s really excited about this incoming group that includes seven freshmen and one JUCO transfer.
Chance Baker | INF | Buda | Jack C. Hays HS | L/R
Cort Castle | C | Waco | Midway HS | R/R
Cody Grebeck | INF | Midland | Midland Christian School | R/R
Cody Howard | RHP | The Woodlands | The Woodlands HS | R/R
Mason Marriott | RHP/INF | Tomball | Tomball HS | L/R
Casen Neumann | 1B/OF/LHP | Tomball | Tomball HS | L/L
Chase Pendley | INF | Prosper | Prosper HS | R/R
Bradley Wilcott | RHP | Friendswood | Friendswood HS /Alvin CC | R/R
Men’s basketball – 3
The No. 2/1 Bears are looking to get better as Baylor added a five-star recruit and two four-star recruits to its 2021 signing class, including an international player, all of whom are ranked in the top 40. Baylor’s 2021 signing class is ranked No. 4 nationally and first in the Big 12, becoming the program’s highest-ranked recruiting class.
Kendall Brown | Forward | Bel Aire, Kan. | Sunrise Christian Academy | Ranked No. 12
Langston Love | Guard | Universal City, Texas/Monteverde, Fla. | Monteverde Academy | Ranked No. 23
Jeremy Sochan | Forward | Ulm, Germany | Orange Academy | Ranked No. 40
