By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Just a week removed from the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships, where Demario Prince (60-meter hurdles) and Tiriah Kelley (200 meters) each brought home bronze, along with a Big 12 title and fourth-place finish from Molly Haywood, Baylor track is already turning the page and shifting its focus to the outdoor season.
Now with the outdoor season officially underway, Baylor carries early momentum from the TCU Alumni Invitational, where strong sprint performances and multiple event wins offered a glimpse of the depth and firepower the Bears will rely on throughout the spring.
Baylor wasted no time making a statement in Fort Worth, as sophomore Abbas Ali and freshman Success Oyibu swept the men’s and women’s 200 meters and senior Laurenz Colbert opened his final outdoor campaign with a win in the 100. With multiple Bears placing across sprint events, the early results pointed to a team that could be one of the most dangerous in the Big 12.
In the field, senior Molly Haywood continued to anchor the Bears, carrying over her indoor success with a dominant showing in the pole vault, while Baylor added depth behind her with multiple top-eight finishes. As the outdoor season progresses, that combination of veteran leadership and developing contributors could prove critical in conference and national meets.
While several of Baylor’s top indoor standouts have yet to make their outdoor debuts following a week off from record-setting performances, the Bears are approaching the early outdoor season with patience, prioritizing health, rhythm and consistency before ramping up at the Clyde Hart Classic in Waco this weekend.
With proven All-Americans, veteran leadership and emerging talent across the roster, Baylor enters the spring with both momentum and the expectation of making another postseason run.
Leading the way on the track, Prince and Kelley return as two of the most proven performers in the conference, coming off big-time finishes, including yet another school-record performance from Prince at the World Indoor Championships, and are looking to carry that momentum into longer sprint and hurdle events outdoors.
As the outdoor season opens up, both have the opportunity to build on their indoor success and establish themselves as contenders on the national stage.
Behind them, Baylor’s depth in the sprints will be a key factor throughout the spring as underclassmen Ali and Oyibu have already shown early flashes, while Colbert’s veteran presence adds consistency to a group that has the potential to score heavily at the conference level. If that production continues, the Bears could once again lean on their speed to separate themselves in key meets.
Despite losing two 2025 outdoor national champions in Nathaniel Ezekiel and Alexis Brown, Baylor still has the pieces to be a dangerous team this spring. Between returning All-Americans, proven conference scorers and a roster that has already shown early depth across both track and field events, the Bears have more than enough talent to stay in the hunt.
The Bears continue their outdoor campaign this weekend, hosting their first home meet of the year at the Clyde Hart Classic on March 27–28 at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium in Waco.
