By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorWho will take over the Baylor football program now that Matt Rhule is no longer head coach?In the wake of Rhule’s departure to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, that is the question that remains as Mack Rhoades, Baylor vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics, goes on the hunt for his replacement. But it is a question that will largely remain unanswered until Rhoades and his staff make an official decision. The director made it very clear in a statement released by Baylor Athletics last Tuesday that no information will be given on any candidates while…

DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor What do you do after defeating the No. 1 team in the nation? You come home and steamroll your next opponent. The No. 6 Baylor women’s basketball team put up 94-48 victory over Oklahoma State Sunday at the Ferrell Center behind a career-leading double-double performance from sophomore forward NaLyssa Smith. With 30 points and 15 rebounds, the Converse, Texas native went 12-20 from the field, 6-9 from the free throw line and notched her 300th career rebound. Smith finished the day with 307 career boards, as she had 292 prior to the game. Head coach…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorFor the first time in Scott Drew’s 17 years as Baylor basketball’s head coach, the Bears are leaving Lawrence, Kan. with a win. The fourth-ranked team won it’s 12th straight game to upset the No. 3 Jayhawks 67-55 and move to 13-1 on the season, 3-0 in the Big 12, Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse. Pulling off their first victory over a ranked team on the road, the Bears led by 13 points at the half with a score of 37-24 and finished the game shooting 45% from the field. Battling the Jayhawks’ size advantage…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter three years as the head coach of Baylor football, Matt Rhule signed with the Carolina Panthers to become the franchise’s fifth head coach Tuesday morning, as first reported by Yahoo Sports and NFL Network Insider. The seven-year deal is reported by ESPN to be worth $60 million with incentives that could bring that number up to $70 million. The Panthers met with Rhule on Monday at his home in Waco. The New York native, who has been the hot name in the coaching market for several weeks now, was also supposed to meet with…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorLike the ball crashing off the glass, No. 6 Baylor men’s basketball grabbed the Big 12 opener by the horns with a 56-44 victory over Texas, Saturday in the Ferrell Center. Defense was the name of the game as the Bears held the Longhorns to the fewest points that they’ve held a Big 12 opponent to since 2015, and the fewest points in the Shaka Smart era. Despite a field goal percentage of 31.3 and a three-point percentage of 29.4, Baylor was able to take advantage of strong rebounding and all-around team effort to come…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Drake Toll |Broadcast Reporter NEW ORLEANS — No. 7 Baylor football fell 28-14 to No. 5 Georgia Wednesday night in the Allstate Sugar Bowl after being held to 93 total yards of offense in the first half without making a score. While the Bears might have ended their season on a two-game losing streak, those losses don’t take away from the fact that Baylor accomplished something no one thought they could. “I know tonight hurts,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “I know it’s painful for our guys, but they can’t let that…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor NEW ORLEANS — The world of football will just have to get used to the idea that Matt Rhule might just be Baylor’s head coach for the next decade.While Rhule’s No. 7 Bears prepare to take on No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl tonight, the chatter on whether the third-year coach will leave Baylor for a position in the NFL continues to circulate.That’s what happens when you turn a 1-11 team into a force to be reckoned with in just two years. Rhule acknowledged that it comes with the territory of building a…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe new decade is fast approaching and with it comes Baylor football’s Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia on Jan. 1. It’s no secret that New Orleans is a colorful melting pot of food, music and fun. With parties, celebrations and fireworks on both sides of the Mississippi River, there is a lot in store for locals and visitors alike. So if you’re spending the week rooting for the Bears in the Crescent City, here’s a list of places and what to do to experience New Year’s Eve Big Easy-style.Easy options for your taste buds:Cafe Beignet:…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorTo the sounds of the Third Line Brass Band, the Bears have landed in New Orleans.Ahead of its New Year’s Day matchup against No. 5 Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, No. 7 Baylor football is prepared to take on the Bulldogs just as much as it is ready to experience the culture and cuisine of the Crescent City.“I am really ready for the food and the music and I’m not even going to lie, I’m ready for Bourbon Street,”senior linebacker Jordan Williams said. “I have never been on Bourbon Street and I just want…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Drake Toll No. 1-seeded Baylor volleyball continues to make history, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time. After a four-set win over Purdue, the Bears will battle against a gritty eighth-seeded Washington for a ticket to Pittsburg, Pa. and the Final Four. “We’ve just set our minds on Pittsburg, and we have two great opponents out there that want the same thing,” Baylor head coach Ryan McGuyre said before the Huskies faced No. 9 Kentucky. The Bears dropped only their twelfth set of the 2019 season to the Boilermakers but…

Dear Readers,Thank you so much for keeping up with us this semester. For picking up the Lariat every Tuesday and Friday and skipping straight to the sports section. For opening your Morning Buzz emails and clicking through our stories first (*wink*). And for putting up with our awkward nonsense on “Don’t Feed the Bears.” This season of Baylor sports has been incredible to cover. To have four ranked teams this fall, as well as the rest of our programs competing at such a high level is amazing. The sports crew here at the Lariat is truly fortunate to get to…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor No. 7 Baylor had no other option than to throw its third-string quarterback into the belly of the beast during Saturday’s 30-23 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game. With junior starting QB Charlie Brewer in the concussion protocol and redshirt freshman quarterback Gerry Bohanon pulled after the third quarter due to discomfort in his knee, Baylor’s hopes fell on true freshman Jacob Zeno to finish the game for the Bears. With Zeno having only thrown three passes all season prior to the rematch against the Sooners, head coach Matt…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorFor a team going into its first Big 12 Championship game, the seventh-ranked Bears are strangely calm. Heading to Arlington for an 11 a.m. rematch against No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said his team’s mindset has not changed — the Bears are still just trying to go 1-0 this week. “I told our players, ‘Everyone’s going to say, ‘What are you going to do differently?’” the 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year said. “We just played them three weeks ago. You can’t reinvent the wheel. We can’t come out…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Drake Toll | Broadcast Reporter Getting back to its defensive standard, but still without senior post Lauren Cox, the No. 7/6 Baylor women’s basketball team extended its home win streak to 45 with a 72-38 victory over Georgia Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears held the Lady Bulldogs to 24.1% from the field and single digit points in the first and fourth quarters. Baylor outmatched Georgia on the glass 41-30 and with 27 defensive rebounds. “I was pleased, number one, with our effort,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “We…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorWith its 19th sweep of the season, No. 1 Baylor volleyball clinched its first ever Big 12 Championship title. The Bears defeated TCU 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 Saturday at the Ferrell Center on Senior Day, finishing the regular season with a program-best 15-1 conference record and sharing the title with the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. “It’s very unique,” head coach Ryan McGuyre said. “My goal each year is the greatest volleyball experience ever, and you heard me say that since Day One, and for these seniors we’ve really been able to increase that year by year.…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor The No. 9 Baylor Bears are closing out the regular season on the road against Kansas and according to head coach Matt Rhule, this is the biggest game of the year. “The day of our guys thinking, ‘This is a big game because we are playing these guys,’ that’s gone — It has been gone all year,” Rhule said. “It’s a big game because we are playing in it and this is the biggest game this season and the preparation so far has felt that way and will continue to feel that way.”Kansas (3-8,…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Drake Toll | Broadcast Reporter No. 13 Baylor football clinched their first Big 12 Championship game berth with a 24-10 victory over Texas Saturday at McLane Stadium. The last time the Bears defeated the Longhorns at home was in the final game played at Floyd Casey Stadium in December 2013 when they clinched their first Big 12 title. According to head coach Matt Rhule, the Senior Day win this weekend was two years in the making. “I just have so much respect for [Texas] — to beat them, I don’t want our…

By Matias Soto | ContributorHead men’s tennis coach Brian Boland and his staff believe that giving opportunities to foreign players is the way to build the culture they want in order to win a national championship. Many college teams incorporate players from outside America and mix them with American players to build their programs. The Baylor men’s tennis team has seven players from outside of the United States and only one American on its roster. Johannes Schretter from Austria, who graduated in May 2019, had some words of dedication after playing tennis for Baylor. “Baylor made the biggest impact in…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorA month ago, Baylor volleyball was the last undefeated team in the country and held the No. 1 ranking. The Bears then suffered their first loss of the season to then-No. 4 Texas in Austin, ending their 16-0 streak in three sets. Now No. 3 Baylor gets a rematch against the No. 1-ranked Longhorns on its home turf Wednesday night to what is set to be a record-setting crowd at the Ferrell Center with over 4,700 tickets already sold as of Monday evening. Head coach Ryan McGuyre said he hopes the crowd will bring more…

By DJ Ramirez, Matthew Soderberg and Drake Toll | Sports Editor, Sports Writer and Broadcast Reporter In just one decade, Baylor athletics has risen from the wallows of mediocrity to the peak of athletic achievement. From five acrobatics and tumbling national championships to two women’s basketball national titles and even a Heisman Trophy winner, every program has seen unprecedented success in the last decade. Voices of the Bears While most Bears fans are constrained to observing the success from bleachers and TV screens, a few lucky Bear insiders have had a front-row seat to both the highs and lows of…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor For 30 minutes, No. 13 Baylor football was in control. For 30 minutes, the undefeated underdog proved that they belonged under the prime-time spotlight. But after having established themselves as a fourth-quarter team all season, the Bears couldn’t finish how they started, falling to No. 10 Oklahoma 34-31 Saturday night at McLane Stadium. “People all week asked me about starting fast, starting fast,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “I say I don’t care — I want to finish. Heavyweight bouts are not won in the first round, they’re won at the end of the…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter a seventh-place finish in the Big 12 Cross Country Championships, the Baylor cross country team traveled back to Arkansas Wednesday to prepare for the NCAA South Central Regional Championship which will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at Agri Park on Friday morning. The Bears look to improve after a tough Big 12 race which they hosted at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course on Nov. 2. and head coach Jon Capron hopes his team can take a step back up. “This is a much bigger meet,” Capron said. “They’re going to have to move…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorWill No. 12 Baylor football’s 29-23 triple overtime victory over TCU Saturday in Fort Worth become the new 61-58? Head coach Matt Rhule is not really sure of that, but he does know that it will be a memorable win for his team. He finally understands what the rivalry between the Bears and the Horned Frogs means. “We knew that game would be a grind. We know how hard it is to win on the road…Maybe I didn’t necessarily understand the rivalry, the Baylor-TCU rivalry, until I sat there with the student section behind me…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Nate Smith | Broadcast Reporter Two words: triple overtime. That’s what it took for No. 12 Baylor football to remain undefeated after seizing a 29-23 victory out of the hands of TCU Saturday in Fort Worth. With neither team reaching the end zone during regulation and the score tied at nine, the Bears and the Horned Frogs combined for five touchdowns with Baylor putting the stop on TCU in the final drive and clinch the win. “I’ll tell you what I’m most proud of,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “We stormed the…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorComing off a strong opening game on Tuesday, No. 2 ranked Baylor women’s basketball looks to take on Grambling State Friday night at the Ferrell Center. The national championship is not the only honor being celebrated by the Lady Bears as associate head coach Bill Brock will be missing Friday night’s matchup to be inducted into the Grayson College Athletics Hall of Fame. Brock is in his 17th season alongside Kim Mulkey after leading Grayson’s women’s basketball team through 10 conference championships, two NJCAA national tournament runs (including a third-place finish in 2000) and a…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAnother defensive battle, another slow offensive game. In the end, the then No. 12 Baylor football team still managed to scrape out a 17-14 win in a strange Halloween game against West Virginia. On a night when the offensive line and special teams played under the standard set by head coach Matt Rhule, Baylor’s defense continued to be elite, especially in the fourth quarter.“They are a tough, resilient group,” Rhule said. “We are still learning that it’s okay just to play defense and not worry; if the offense is not clicking, it doesn’t matter, keep…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor The Baylor Bears will host the 24th annual Big 12 Cross Country Championship meet Saturday at Cottonwood Creek in Waco Having trained on Cottonwood throughout the year, the Bears have the home-field advantage, but senior Matt Henderson said that the course will still provide a fair challenge. “It’s a cross country course…There are some hard parts, there’s some easy parts. It’s, I would say, pretty well rounded and a fair course. It’ll be a good race,” Henderson said. “Yes, we have the advantage but that doesn’t mean the race will be handed down to…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports WriterBaylor soccer dropped their final regular season match 3-0 to Oklahoma State Thursday night in Stillwater, Okla. While the Bears outshot the Cowgirls 16-13, 9-8 on goal, they were not able to put their chances away. For the second straight match, Baylor had double digit shot attempts in the first half at 12-6, but fell behind in the second with only four. Junior goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt recorded five saves while OSU goalkeeper Dani Greenlee had eight, plus one that was noted as a team save. The Bears started their attack early as senior forward Camryn…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorSince his arrival to Baylor University in 2015, head baseball coach Steve Rodriguez’s biggest goal has been to shape the lives of his players through more than just baseball. One way Rodriguez and his staff have attempted to achieve that goal is by continuing Baylor baseball’s partnership with the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, which began in 2012.“I tell a lot of people this — you can win a lot of things, and it doesn’t always have to be on the field all the time,” Rodriguez said.On Friday, the Bears hosted 15-year-old Tyler Credeur, a burn…

By RALPH D. RUSSO | AP College Sports WriterThe NCAA took a major step Tuesday toward allowing college athletes to cash in on their fame, voting to permit them to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”The nation’s largest governing body for college sports and its member schools now must figure out how to allow athletes to profit — something they have fought against doing for years — while still maintaining rules regarding amateurism. The NCAA Board of Governors, meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, directed each of the NCAA’s three divisions to create the necessary new…