By Aidan O’Connor | Sports Writer
For the 27th year in a row, No. 19 Baylor men’s tennis is heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Bears will open the biggest tournament in college tennis against Nebraska in the first round at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station.
The past two NCAA Tournament appearances for the Bears (22-10) have ended early as they lost in the first round in both years to Florida State in 2023 and San Diego in 2024, which was also played in College Station. This year, Baylor believes it can make a deep run and earn the chance to play in front of a home crowd as they host the quarterfinals, semifinals and final at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Baylor went on an 8-2 run to finish the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships. Along with the wins, the Bears earned multiple awards to end the season. Graduate student Alexandru Chirita was awarded the 2025 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year; sophomore Devin Badenhorst and junior Zsombor Velcz were named All-Big 12 First Teamers in singles play; seniors Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Marko Miladinovic, along with junior Luc Koenig and Badenhorst, were on the Big 12 First Team Doubles list.
Baylor looks to carry the success and accolades over into their first-round matchup against Nebraska (15-9). The Cornhuskers enter the NCAA Tournament as a fresh face, making their third appearance in the tournament — the last time being in 2011. Along with returning to the big stage, Nebraska also won a program record eight conference games.
“They gave us everything and more than we wanted when we played them at their place in February,” Woodson said of Nebraska. “It wasn’t an easy match, and they could have beaten us. That team is very well coached, and they’re old. So we know we’re going to get their best.”
This matchup will be the second time these two teams have played each other this season, when the Bears defeated the Cornhuskers 4-2. Having won against them previously and closing the season on a high note, Baylor is confident it can snap the first-round exit streak at two.
“We’ve played Nebraska and Rice already this year, and A&M — we haven’t played them in a dual match, but we’ve seen them all the time in the fall, and we’ve played all their guys tons of times,” Woodson said. “We feel a ton of familiarity with where we’re headed, and obviously, four great programs, there’s no slouch in that group. I think it’s a place that we can advance, and that’s exciting.”
The Bears will begin NCAA Tournament play against Nebraska at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. The winner will face the winner of Rice versus No. 18 Texas A&M in the second round Monday.
