By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
After an injury-riddled 2024 season, some familiar faces have worked their way back onto the field for Baylor baseball during fall practices and established themselves as cornerstones heading into the 2025 season.
Last season, head coach Mitch Thompson went into his second year feeling confident his team had vastly improved and had the pieces in place to compete in the Big 12. Unfortunately, several key pieces couldn’t make their way to conference baseball.
Second baseman Jack Little and outfielder Gavin Brzozowski suffered season ending injuries during the week leading up to the season, and outfielder Hunter Simmons suffered a season-ending injury trying to make a highlight reel catch in the outfield just a few weeks later. While the trio had different paths to 100%, each player made the decision to come back to baseball after a redshirt year.
“Getting those guys healthy from last year has been a big plus, and getting their feet back underneath them, but it’s been a great fall,” assistant coach Jim Blair said. “Team chemistry has been great. New guys are showing a lot of promise. The returners have done exceptionally well getting their feet back underneath them.”
Simmons’ right leg injury led to a summer of recovery and surgeries to repair an ankle fracture. But between all the hardships, he was still cheering on his teammates and working his way back.
“That was a very traumatic injury, and not one that’s easy to come back from. And initially, when it happened, we didn’t know what it was really going to look like if he’s going to have an opportunity to get back on the field, but he’s taken his rehab very seriously and worked really hard at it,” Blair said. “He’s a big-time piece to this team.”
Players from the team including infielder Cole Posey, outfielder Kade Fletcher and redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig would visit Simmons while he was still in the hospital recovering. They talked with Simmons about his future and how he wanted to approach school and baseball.
“The day after I had gotten surgery, a lot of them showed up at the hospital. They kind of sat there for a while, sitting there talking to me,” Simmons said. “It was really kind of easing the mind, knowing that there’s still guys that are wanting to be there supporting you.”
The power hitter went into the 2024 season with the mentality that it was his last shot in college, but during the talks with his teammates they asked him about attending grad school. Simmons liked the idea of one more shot.
Simmons, now a graduate student, and Brzozowski started their Baylor careers primarily as corner outfielders and designated hitters, but during rehab found a new home. Thompson and Blair tried each of them out at first base and throughout fall intrasquad scrimmages, the veterans have played exclusively as the first basemen for team green and team gold.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. I don’t have to worry about any walls out there coming to get me, but it really is nice over there,” Simmons joked. “I have a good time with it, especially when I’m closer to the place. I can sit there and talk to all the guys in the infield because usually when I’m in the outfield, you can’t see me. I’m just talking to myself and dancing. So now I can do that in the infield.”
During his career with the Bears, Simmons has a .303 batting average, five home runs and 40 runs batted in. When he went down with an injury in the fifth game of the season in 2024, he was the team leader in AVG (.353), doubles (2), hits (6) and RBI (6).
“I think last year we had a really solid lin-up one through nine. I thought we had guys that we could interchange. The problem was, obviously, injuries set that back,” Simmons said. “I’m very, very, very intrigued like I was last year. I’m excited and very confident that we’re going to have guys go compete with anybody.”
Baylor baseball will hold free intrasquad scrimmages open to the public through mid-November. First pitch times and dates will be announced weekly on Baylor Baseball’s social media channels.
