By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Two-and-a-half decades. Three national championships. Nine All‑Americans. And thousands of athletes filtered through the old Ferrell Center and now the Foster Pavilion, each leaving something behind — a moment, a memory, a piece of the program’s spine.
In that stretch, banners have climbed, trophies have been lifted, and college careers have stretched into professional chapters that all began in Waco.
While choosing only five from the last 25 years feels an almost impossible feat, these five rose above the rest, etched into Baylor WBB history forever.
5. Kalani Brown (2015-2019)
Rounding out the list is Kalani Brown, the dominant interior force who helped power Baylor back to the top of women’s college basketball. As the anchor of the Bears’ frontcourt alongside Lauren Cox during one of the program’s most successful stretches, Brown gave Baylor a matchup nightmare in the paint and a level of consistency few post players could match.
As a centerpiece of Baylor’s third national championship team, Brown built her legacy on efficiency, power and reliability. A three-time First Team All-Big 12 selection and two-time All-American, she finished her career among the program’s all-time leaders in scoring, rebounds and blocks. Even in a program defined by elite post play, Brown carved out her own place in history, later becoming the Bears’ fifth WNBA Draft lottery pick as the No. 7 overall selection.
4. NaLyssa Smith (2019-2022)
By the time Smith finished her time in Waco, she had become the face of Baylor WBB’s next era. Arriving as a freshman on the Bears’ 2019 national championship team, Smith grew from a key reserve into the centerpiece of Baylor’s frontcourt, steadying the program through roster turnover, a coaching change and shifting expectations.
In many ways, she became the bridge between Baylor’s title-winning core under former head coach Kim Mulkey and the program’s next chapter under Nicki Collen.
Smith’s legacy was built on a game as versatile as it was dominant. She could score down low, run the floor in transition, clean the glass at an elite rate and take over when Baylor needed a star. Following back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022, along with consecutive First Team All-American selections, she was selected No. 2 overall in the WNBA Draft and later added “WNBA champion” to her résumé.
3. Odyssey Sims (2010-2014)
If Baylor’s rise was built through dominant post play, Odyssey Sims proved the Bears could produce greatness in the backcourt too. The most dynamic guard in program history and one of the best floor generals to come through women’s college basketball, Sims brought speed, toughness and star power to Baylor’s perimeter during one of the program’s dominant stretches.
A key piece of Baylor’s undefeated 2012 national championship team, Sims helped form one of the most feared duos in college basketball alongside Brittney Griner.
But her legacy stretched far beyond that championship run. By her senior season, she had become the most unstoppable guard in the country, averaging 28.5 points and sweeping every major guard-specific award in college hoops. A four-time First Team All-Big 12 selection, 2014 Wade Trophy winner and Baylor Hall-of-Famer, Sims became the second-highest pick in the WNBA Draft, being selected at No. 2 in 2014.
2. Sophia Young-Malcolm (2002-2006)
Years before Baylor’s undefeated title run and before Griner helped elevate the Bears into a national juggernaut, it was Sophia Young-Malcolm who first showed the women’s college basketball world what Baylor could become.
One of the earliest great stars under Mulkey, Young-Malcolm helped define the program’s rise while establishing herself as one of the most complete players Baylor has ever produced.
As the centerpiece of Baylor’s climb in the early 2000s, Young-Malcolm helped turn the Bears from an emerging contender into a national champion, leading the program to its first-ever NCAA title in 2005. The 2006 No. 4 pick in the WNBA Draft and a Baylor Hall-of-Famer, Young-Malcolm built her legacy in Waco through unmatched versatility, becoming one of only four players in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 steals and 300 assists.
1. Brittney Griner (2009-2013)
There have been only a rare few players, if any, in the history of women’s college basketball who have dominated the game from the moment they arrived the way Brittney Griner did. To this day, her time at Baylor stands as one of the most decorated runs not only in program history, but in the history of the game. Her résumé was elite and era-defining, turning her into the standard by which dominance is measured in Waco and far beyond.
While I could spend thousands of words listing the accolades Griner collected, that still wouldn’t fully capture her greatness. A look back at Baylor’s 40-0 national championship run in 2012 offers only a glimpse of why her career remains impossible to match.
Griner left Waco as Baylor’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, free throws made, minutes played, games started, field goals made and — my personal favorite — dunks. As Baylor’s first and only No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick, her No. 42 jersey was retired in 2024, cementing her rightful place as the greatest women’s basketball player to ever wear the green and gold.
