Ex-Baylor legend Brittney Griner to return to campus for jersey retirement ceremony

By Michael Haag | Sports Editor

Just over a decade after finishing an illustrious four-year career with the Bears, Brittney Griner will finally have her jersey put in the rafters.

Baylor Athletics confirmed in a press release on Monday that the Baylor women’s basketball program will retire Griner’s former No. 42 jersey in a pregame ceremony when the Bears host Texas Tech on Feb. 18 in the Foster Pavilion.

“I’m honored to return home to Baylor and celebrate where so much of my journey started,” Griner, who played in Waco from 2009 to 2013, said in a press release. “I’m grateful to Coach Nicki [Collen] and the entire Baylor community and am looking forward to the opportunity to be back on campus, spend time with the team and have my family beside me to share in this incredible moment. Sic ‘em, Bears.”

One of Baylor’s most decorated athletes ever, the 6-foot-9-inch forward wrapped up her Baylor career with the second-most points (3,283) in program history and the third-most rebounds (1,305). She also finished top in the school record book in blocks (748) and double-doubles (63) and started every game she played in (148 games). Her point and block totals are Big 12 records, as well as field goals made (1,247), free throws made (787) and free throws attempted (1,054).

Griner, a two-time consensus National Player of the Year, helped lead the Bears to a 40-0 record and the 2012 National Championship. She will be the seventh player in program history to have her jersey retired, joining Odyssey Sims, Melissa Jones, Nina Davis, Suzie Snider Eppers, Sheila Lambert and Sophia Young.

Third-year head coach Nicki Collen has pushed for Griner’s jersey retirement ever since she took the Baylor job, but she said she wanted to make sure both parties’ timelines matched up.

“With the opening of the Foster Pavilion, and the WNBA offseason fitting into our season, this seemed like the right time to honor Brittney and welcome her back home,” Collen said.

The Houston native racked up a bevy of other accolades, including being the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2010 and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year all four years. Griner is the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to have over 2,000 career points and 500 career blocks. She scored in double figures in 146 of 148 career games, which is the second-most in NCAA history.

The list goes on, as the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft posted a 135-15 record in her four years in Waco. She helped orchestrate the program’s second-ever national title run in 2012, a pair of Final Four appearances, six Big 12 Championships and 40-straight conference regular-season wins to end her time as a Bear. Griner went 50-8 in league regular-season games with Baylor.

“There’s no doubt she is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Baylor athletics history, and we’re thrilled the timing has worked out for all of us to celebrate and honor her,” vice president and director of athletics Mack Rhoades said. “She always has been, and always will be, a significant member of the Baylor Family.”

Griner has spent the last 10 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, who selected her first overall in 2013. She’s been named an All-Star six times as well as being a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA. She finished her bachelor of science degree in education at Baylor in 2019.

Griner is nearly two years removed from being arrested in Russia on drug charges, which happened in February 2022. She was later sentenced to nine years in prison but returned home to the United States in December following a prisoner swap.

The Bears repped a “BG” patch on their jerseys, and the squad got to meet her at a Mercury-Dallas Wings game over the summer.