By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
Baylor is known as one of the premier volleyball destinations across the country. The Bears have been a mainstay in the national rankings for the past decade, but perhaps the program’s greatest asset comes after a player’s career.
Baylor volleyball expectantly waits to welcome its alumni back to the Ferrell Center with homecoming on the horizon. Head coach Ryan McGuyre has poured the foundation for his family of alumni, and reconnecting is one of the highlights of the season.
“So excited to see alumni,” McGuyre said. “The Baylor volleyball family is something special. They’re coming back for it, too. So many friendships, memories. And they’re all a part of each other. It’s not like we are plucking them out of here and there.”
McGuyre’s program brags about its alumni when attracting new players. Teammates build strong fellowship with each other and Baylor volleyball intends to extend that far beyond their playing days.
“It is a family reunion,” McGuyre said. “Personally, it brings back joyful tears, cherished memories, different experiences … We get to battle together, joke together. I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
McGuyre has helped establish the One Way Club, which serves to invest in the volleyball program, its players and its coaches. The name stems from McGuyre’s emphasis on building a single identity and play style within the team.
Baylor volleyball alum Faith Lynch recognizes it as one of the primary ways McGuyre continues to build culture with the alumni.
“Our One Way Club is called One Way because [McGuyre] asks us to play one way,” Lynch said. “We follow the Lord one way. We play volleyball one way. We do everything one way. I think that just bleeds into post-volleyball life. I’ve spent so much time and dedicated so much time with these girls and this team and this staff that I want to continue to be a part of it.”
Lynch is a sixth-generation Baylor Bear who played all four years of her volleyball career at Baylor from 2021 to 2024. She currently works as a freelance broadcaster for ESPN+, calling games for the Bears has helped her keep Baylor volleyball and its people close.
“Getting to walk through life with my teammates is something that I think is really cool,” Lynch said. “Getting to do post-volleyball life with them. I knew I’d still be close with them, but we have truly still been a family, getting to different stages of life together.”
Many of Lynch’s teammates have gotten married and are starting families, but the community they built in college hasn’t left them; homecoming weekend offers them the opportunity to reunite. McGuyre only has a few years with each of his players but he has a clear goal for them that goes beyond their athletic careers.
“I want these women to be powerful women of influence that can graduate as Christ-like warriors that glorify the Lord,” McGuyre said. “And it’s been fun because the other ones that graduated are all getting married, and there are more and more babies coming around from our alumni. That also excites me, just to see the joy.”
NCAA athletics have been shaken by the introduction of NIL; one of the fallouts of the changes is the decrease in alumni who spent multiple years of their collegiate career at one school. Fortunately for Baylor, the foundation had already been built.
“In the day and age of NIL and just college athletics in general, alumni are so far and few between now,” Lynch said. “When you do have a true four-year letter winner or someone that has a degree from Baylor, you want to keep them involved. Coach [McGuyre] and his staff really see the value of that and how much we can pour back into the program. I know for me, I want Baylor volleyball to be great forever.”
