By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
On a roster of 37 players, nine are going into their first season of college baseball. Baylor expects this young core to lead it back to its past success.
“These are guys that, in the next three or four years, could really write their names on Baylor baseball,” head coach Mitch Thompson said.
The Bears are still looking to take the next step in the program’s rebuild. Veteran players like senior left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder want to make that final push in their collegiate careers.
“This is my fourth year. I want to see it grow,” Calder said. “Starting from where we were freshman year to now, I want to see us make it [to the] regional.”
The senior class has seen the team improve every year under Thompson. Baylor finished 20-35 in 2023, Thompson’s first season as head coach, and climbed up to 22-31 in 2024 and 33-21 (13-17 Big 12) in 2025.
The Bears were busy this fall with uniting experience with the promise and excitement of the young squad.
“We did a lot in the fall,” redshirt junior infielder Travis Sanders said. “We got a lot of new players in, and we had to come behind and mesh together.”
While the Bears made it back to the Big 12 tournament for the first time in three years, they now aim to return to the national stage and bring excitement back to Baylor Ballpark.
“I remember going up and coming to games here, that Arkansas Super Regional, I’ve seen this place packed out,” Calder said. “That’s something that a lot of people envision.”
Baylor’s 2012 Super Regional against Arkansas saw crowds of over 5,000 for all three games, all ranking among the program’s 10 most-attended games.
A promising sign for the Bears’ success is the pitching staff. They are returning eight pitchers, including multiple key arms, from last year’s group that ranked third in the conference in ERA.
“This might be the closest group that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Calder said. “I think everyone clicks well.”
The pitchers have shown that they are ready to return to dominance. Baylor hopes to see its bullpen trio of fifth-year Caleb Bunch, senior Grayson Murry and redshirt junior Lucas Davenport elevate the incoming arms.
“We had three or four or five pitchers … that are showing that they’re getting ready to go right now,” Thompson said. “That added depth on the mound will obviously play a big, big role for us.”
The Bears recognize that the organization of the pitching staff is going to look different without closer Gabe Craig, whom the Philadelphia Phillies drafted in the fifth round of the MLB Draft. Craig tallied 51 strikeouts and a 0.56 ERA in 32 innings last season on his way to becoming Baylor’s first All-American since 2019.
Those shoes seem almost impossible to fill by one current pitcher, so the Bears will look to utilize multiple relievers in the closing role.
“You’re probably not going to find a guy that’s going to have a 0.5 ERA and he freaking strikes out the world, right?” Calder said. “It’s going to take a couple guys building in or coming into new roles to try to fill those innings.”
To pair with one of the best pitching staffs in the Big 12, Baylor will also anchor its lineup with some of its top hitters from last season.
“We returned five guys who have hit over .300 for a complete season of Division I baseball,” Thompson said. “That’s probably pretty rare, and I think that that we can continue to push the bar.”
The middle-infield duo of Sanders and sophomore Pearson Riebock headlines the new lineup. Both recorded batting averages over .300 in their first season in Waco and combined for 61 RBIs in 2025. Along with junior catcher JJ Kennett and fifth-year outfielder Ty Johnson, the Bears hope to see the team’s veterans help develop the newcomers.
Baylor opens its season against New Mexico State at 4 p.m. Friday at Baylor Ballpark. The ballgame will be streamed on ESPN+.
