LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball welcomes Big 12 newcomer Utah to Waco for the first time in program history for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series ahead of the Easter holiday this week.
• Baylor dropped a 4-3 contest in the only prior meeting with Utah on March 5, 2011, at the Astros College Classic.
• BU won its 23rd game of the season on Tuesday night at UT Arlington, the most in a single-season under third-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• The win marked BU’s 9th comeback victory of the season, as the Bears erased an early 7-4 deficit to take down the Mavericks.
• It was also Baylor’s first extra-innings win of the season and fifth of the Thompson era.
• Baylor is 16-2 when striking out nine or more batters this season; 14-2 when allowing two walks or less; and 13-4 when racking up 10+ hits offensively.
• Baylor returns 22 players from its 2024 roster, including six position player starters, and welcomes 18 newcomers.
• BU has 16 seniors on its 2025 roster, including six fifth-year players and three sixth-year players.
• Baylor plays a combined 13 games against five NCAA Tournament teams in 2025 and will face 10 30-game winners, including two squads that won 40 or more games last season.
• 46% of the schedule features opponents that finished 2024 with a top-75 RPI.
STRONG FIRST HALF
• Baylor completed its first Opening Weekend sweep since 2019, outscoring Youngstown State 38-11.
• The Bears posted back-to-back shutouts against UTSA and Gonzaga, the team’s first consecutive shutouts since April 1-2, 2021.
• BU’s sweep over LMU signaled the fourth time since 2017 that the Bears have swept two opponents at home within the first four weekends of the year.
• Tuesday, March 11’s game attendance (2,283) against Sam Houston was the largest crowd against a non-conference opponent, and the seventh-largest overall, of the Thompson era.
• Baylor erased a five-run deficit to win 9-7 on Sunday at Kansas, the largest comeback of the Thompson Era.
• Baylor’s two wins at No. 12 Arizona marked its fifth and sixth victories against a ranked team under third-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• The series win marked BU’s first road series victory over a ranked opponent since April 23-25, 2021, at No. 5 Texas Tech.
• Baylor’s 3.50 walks per nine innings ranks 24th in the country and its 1.33 WHIP ranks 29th nationally.
• BU’s bullpen has allowed 75 earned runs across 181.0 innings of relief, good for a 3.73 ERA.
• For the ninth week in a row, Baylor is currently receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 poll. Baylor has not been ranked in a major poll since 2019.
BATS HEATING UP
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan became the 10th Bear all-time with a 3-HR game when he did so at Texas Tech on Saturday. He now leads the team with nine blasts, tying his entire output from the 2024 season.
• Over their last 10 games, senior INF Tyriq Kemp(.450, 18-for-40) and redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders (.410, 16-for-39) are red hot at the plate, combining for 11 XBH and 11 RBIs.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Thurs. April 17 • 6:30 p.m. • LHP Ethan Calder (3-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. RHP Colter McAnelly (2-3, 4.14 ERA)
• Fri. April 18 • 6:30 p.m. • LHP Carson Bailey (3-1, 5.02 ERA) vs. RHP Merit Jones (2-4, 7.11 ERA)
• Sat. April 19 • 1:00 p.m. • LHP Mason Green (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. TBD
SOUTHPAW STARTERS
• Baylor has started a left-handed pitcher in each of its last 25 games, dating back to March 2 (Cole Stasiovs. Auburn).
• 2025 is the only season in the Statcrew Era (since 2003) that BU has started six different left-handed pitchers at any point in the year, and the third time in the same span with four different LHP starters.
• 2025 is the only time in the Statcrew Era that the Bears have started four different southpaws consecutively.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games this week will be available on ESPN+, featuring Baylor Athletics Hall of Famer Pat Combs (color analyst) on the call alongside a rotating cast of PxP voices: Pete Sousa (Thurs.), Lincoln Rose (Fri.) and John Morris (Sat.).
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor radio broadcast on 1660AM/92.3FM, featuring Derek Smith and Tom Barfield on the call.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
