By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Baylor baseball is no stranger to success, and assistant coach Zach Dillon has been in the middle of it from both sides. Dillon was the starting designated hitter during the 2005 College World Series and acted as an assistant coach when the “Feed the Beaver” craze in 2012 propelled the squad to a Big 12 championship.
With experience as a player wearing the green and gold from 2003-2006 and a volunteer assistant in 2012, Dillon rejoined the program on June 25, 2022 as Baylor’s hitting coach and recruiting coordinator alongside head coach Mitch Thompson, who spent time on Baylor’s coaching staff from 1995-2012. With a proven staff a winning culture on the Brazos is familiar to those who will captain the 2025 Bears.
“I think that’s why I’m here, I think that’s why [former Bear] Coach [Jim] Blair is here, this was more of a passion project for us,” said Dillon. “We saw a once-proud top-25 program, and we wanted to help CoachThompson bring it back to what it was. And we feel like we’re on our way. It’s taken some time, obviously, and we’ve gone through some adversity, but there’s not a lot of quit in our coaching staff, so we’re going to keep pushing every day to get it back to where it was.”
Baylor will enter its third season under Thompson and expect vastly improved results. The Bears finished the 2024 season 22-31 with a 10-20 record in Big 12 play. Despite winning four more games in conference play than the team did in Thompson’s first season at the helm, the green and gold missed the Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive year for the first time in school history.
However, retaining a majority of the team’s 2024 production and seeing growth in younger players has inspired trust from coaches and players that the team can circle back to playing plus-500 ball.
“I think the big word around here for me is ‘belief’,” Dillon said. “Getting everybody in the operation pulling on the same end of the rope and believing in each other and getting everybody going in the same direction is how you start to build a winning program again. And that’s where we’re at. We’re in the belief stage.
“We’ve got the pieces, and I feel like we can be really competitive and put a quality product on the field in the spring. Now, it’s about our guys believing it, owning it and going out and achieving it.”
Sophomore pitcher Mason Green worked his way into weekend starts in his freshman season and dazzled in the fall with 18 strikeouts to only one walk. Green said the pitching staff has been hungry for the regular season and has found the confidence to turn stellar fall ball numbers into Big 12 production.
“I’m pretty sure everyone says baseball is 90% mental and 10% talent,” said Green. “It’s really all about confidence, because if you don’t have confidence in yourself, it’s hard to play to your full potential. I feel like we’re really starting to figure out who’s belonging in certain positions and who can handle the pressure for big moments in the spring.”
Alongside Green, the Bears brought back nine pitchers from the 2024 roster and carried over 13 hitters who fueled a midseason charge. The four primary outfielders — redshirt senior Enzo Apodaca, senior Ty Johnson, redshirt senior Hunter Simmons and senior Wesley Jordan — combined for more than 36% of Baylor’s offense in 2024 and have each seen breakout seasons during their time in Waco.
“Anytime you can return guys, especially in the current state of college athletics, it’s a big deal,” said Dillon. “When you know their personalities and what makes them go, that’s big-time. Those guys are hungry to win and are holding each other to a high standard. Having them in the clubhouse is like an extension of the coaching staff. Our day-to-day standard has been raised, and they understand the value of that.”
The fall roster featured 31 players with collegiate experience, including the four standout bats, something Apodaca said could help form the identity of the team moving forward.
“We’re very experienced, and we’re a lot older. Even the guys we brought in from the transfer portal are experienced,” Apodaca said. “I’m expecting a lot of that senior leadership to step up this spring. That will help us getting over any obstacles – having guys to lean on and pick you up when you’re down.”
As fall ball winds down, Baylor baseball will continue to train throughout the winter with their eyes set on Opening Day against Youngstown State on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at Baylor Ballpark.
