As the lights beamed bright on the opening night of the 2023-24 Baylor men’s basketball season, a freshman from Cameroon sat on the bench with just three years of prior basketball experience. By the season’s end, center Yves Missi had grown exponentially after starting 30 games for the Bears and becoming the first Baylor freshman to ever be named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.

Baylor basketball has been a threat all season, and heading into March Madness, it’ll continue to be one. Once it passes the first weekend, both teams will be ready to make it deep into the tournament.

As exciting as it may have been for both Baylor basketball teams to hear their names called on Selection Sunday, they know there’s no time to celebrate.

As players and schools continue to search for profitable ways to navigate the ever-changing world of Name, Image and Likeness, the sports card boom has proved to help benefit athletes. On Feb. 14, Baylor men’s and women’s basketball partnered with ONIT Athlete to bring licensed sports cards to the community.

Freshman guard Ja’Kobe Walter is different from a typical one-and-done star.

Deciding to use her fifth-year of eligibility was a no-brainer for senior guard Sarah Andrews. It was twofold: Get to stay with a Baylor women’s basketball program that she loves and continue to develop with her eyes set on the WNBA.

“My mindset when it comes to helping my team is just to always do it,” Van Gytenbeek said. “I want to be positive, and I want to be trusted by everybody — to know that I’m going to show up and be the same kind of person and do what I need to do for everybody else and always try to be unselfish.”

“I really believe that as soon as everything is said and done, I will have left Baylor a better place, so I am definitely proud about that,” Tchamwa Tchatchoua said. “I’m proud of being part of the team that made history and still [is] not done with history.”