By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Baylor made a lot of sports headlines in 2024-25.
From a record 10th consecutive national championship in acrobatics and tumbling to men’s and women’s basketball winning NCAA Tournament games, several teams have set themselves up for fascinating seasons next year. Here are five storylines to track heading into 2025-26.
How high can Sawyer Robertson’s Bears fly?
The Lubbock native had a breakout 2024 season, leading Baylor to six straight wins to close out the regular season and finishing top-five nationally in QBR. Statistically, he’s the Bears’ best returning quarterback since 2016 Seth Russell — and he isn’t alone.
Russell lost his top receiver and top three rushers heading into his senior year; this year’s Bears bring back their top rushing and receiving duos, plus both coordinators and four starters along the offensive line. Baylor football is already getting some top 25 buzz, and if season-opening tests against Auburn and SMU break right, this could be a College Football Playoff team.
How does women’s basketball respond?
Head coach Nicki Collen lost a boatload of talent this offseason, including program cornerstone Sarah Andrews, and turned to the transfer portal to reload. She did. Headlined by North Dakota’s Kiera Pemberton (16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds per game) and Auburn’s Yuting Deng, the Bears should be relatively well-positioned to absorb the losses of five of their top six scorers.
The Bears have settled into being a high-level Big 12 team under Collen, earning opening-weekend home games in two of four NCAA Tournaments, but they have only one Big 12 championship and one game past the second round in that time span. Time will tell whether next year’s team can vault the Bears back into the national spotlight.
Speaking of vaulting …
Felecia Mulkey may be the most dominant coach in collegiate athletics. Baylor acrobatics and tumbling just won its 10th straight national title — a full decade of championships — and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
The Bears moved into the Ferrell Center after the Foster Pavilion opened, a much more advantageous practice location than their former home, the Marrs-McLean Gym. Beneath that hallowed golden dome, Mulkey & Co. will look to continue their winning spree in 2026 and the years to come.
The Brazos Bears are back in business
Head coach Mitch Thompson has quietly brought Baylor baseball back to relevance. He took over in June 2022 after a disappointing season — 7-17 in conference play, including four straight losses to end the year — and has slowly built the Bears back into a contender.
With a win over UT Rio Grande Valley Tuesday night, Baylor crossed the 30-win threshold for the first time since 2021. They’ll bring back several key contributors next season with a real chance to contend for a spot in the postseason.
Na Dong is the real deal
Women’s tennis’ freshman phenom closed the year with 15 consecutive singles wins, becoming Baylor’s first Big 12 Newcomer of the Year since 2011. Dong finished the year 26-3, including 7-0 in Big 12 singles play.
Joey Scrivano’s Bears will have a lot to replace, starting with Liubov Kostenko and Cristina Tiglea, the team’s top singles and doubles players. Returners like Dong and Zuzanna Kubacha will provide a strong foundation to rebuild around heading into the 2025-26 season.
