An epic return to the court, some vital wins and some losses, plus scheduling clarity on next football season. Here's a look at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from the past week in Baylor Athletics.
The Return of Everyday Jon — One of the best moments in recent Baylor Athletics history occurred on Saturday at the Ferrell Center, when redshirt senior Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua checked into the ballgame against Texas Tech to an ear-piercing reception. His return from a devastating injury suffered one year ago is genuinely inspirational — and potentially transformational for this team. He finished 2-2 from three, with eight total points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of play, and nearly blew the roof off the Ferrell Center more than once. An all-time great return no matter what happens from here on out, but hopefully just the start of things to come. Just awesome.
Tech Blowout — Any chance to knock the Red Raiders down another peg is a good thing. And if you can blow them out, even better, which the Bears did in the second half in front of a raucous crowd. It was a challenging week, as they fell short on Big Monday in Austin, but the Bears are now 6-1 since their 0-3 start to conference play, which is a fantastic turnaround given the Big 12's difficulty. This week, they'll host a struggling Oklahoma squad on Wednesday and later travel to Fort Worth, hoping to avenge their earlier loss vs. Top 25 TCU.
WBB Wins — The Baylor women had a monster week, outlasting Kansas at home during the winter storm before taking No. 12 Iowa State in Ames to make it three straight wins. Sarah Andrews continued her star turn in both contests, and the Bears also saw significant contributions from the likes of Ja'Mee Asberry, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Caitlin Bickle, and Jaden Owens. Now at 7-3 in the league, the Bears host second-place OU in a big game on Tuesday, a chance to jump the Sooners in the standings. Nicki Collen and Baylor personnel are promoting the game heavily in hopes of a significant homecourt turnout and advantage. They'll also meet OSU in Stillwater on Saturday.
Football Schedule — Mack Rhoades' prediction on 365 Sports rang true as the Big 12 schedule was released right at the end of the month. The Bears' 2023 slate features eight home games, so if there were ever a time to get season tickets, this would be an intriguing year. Pac-12 Champion Utah is a formidable but respectable non-con opponent. The Bears also host Texas for likely the final time, in addition to heated rival Texas Tech and new Big 12 opponent Houston. Albany, Long Island, Iowa State, and West Virginia fill the other home slots. The program needs to take advantage of the extra opportunities at McLane. Also, it's fun finally filling in some blanks when thinking about next year's team and league.
New FB Commit/Additions — The Bears picked up a commitment from 2024 offensive lineman Koltin Sieracki following junior day visits. There was also the walk-on addition of quarterback Cade Tessier. Eric Mateos continues solidifying the present and future of the offensive line, and you can never have enough QB depth, right?!
No. 1 A&T — The reigning, defending, multi-time National Championship program defeated West Liberty in the season-opener at the Ferrell Center. They'll travel to Angola, Indiana, next Saturday for a meeting with Trine University. Baylor A&T alum and 4x National Champ Kati Horstmann serves as the Thunder's head coach.
Men's Tennis — Junior Tadeas Paroulek was named Big 12 Player of the Week after clutch finishes in a pair of Kickoff Weekend wins the previous weekend. The program also broke the Hawkins Indoor attendance record with 452 fans on Friday night vs. Michigan. Unfortunately, that didn't swing the final result, as the No. 4 Wolverines won 5-2. Freshman Zsombor Velcz and sophomore Ethan Muza earned two singles points. Next, the Bears are back at Hawkins Indoor on Wednesday to host unbeaten and 3rd-ranked TCU. The Horned Frogs will mark the third Top 5 and fourth Top 10 opponent for the Bears over the last two weeks.
Equestrian — The No. 8 Bears went 1-1 in Fresno, California, defeating Minnesota Crookston 10-3 before falling to hometown Fresno State, 13-4.
Women's Golf — The No. 24 Bears find themselves one shot back of leader Georgia entering the final day (Monday) of the Collegiate Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Women's Tennis — The Bears went 1-1, defeating Ole Miss 4-3 at home on Friday before losing their Sunday contest vs. Florida. The Bears next travel northeast to Cambridge, MA, for a midweek meeting with Harvard.
Streak Snapped — MBB is red-hot, but unfortunately, so are the Longhorns, and the Bears couldn't complete another win last Monday in the state's capital. No shame there, but the loss snapped the six-game win streak and earned first-place Texas a significant step forward in the standings as the regular season enters its final month.
NO-klahoma — If the 2023 season is all she wrote for OU in the Big 12, the Bears will only face the Sooners again if its in the conference title game or a future non-con, which could take a while as dance cards appear jammed for the foreseeable future. And that's if there's even mutual interest. Should the two not tango from here on out, that'd be a shame. There have been tons of memorable blue blood vs. new blood moments and impactful results between the programs over the last decade. Not to mention the majority of Big 12 trophies over those ten years. The Bears also won't see Oklahoma State this year, barring a title match, which seems strange and unlikely, but not nearly as disappointing.
Women's Tennis — The No. 18 Florida Gators chomped the Bears 6-1 on Sunday in Waco.
Blue Blood Snobbery — The Big 12's schedule drop made for a fun and eventful day of news and celebration for most teams in the conference this week. Well, all the ones sticking around or joining in the future. Unfortunately, there was close to zero acknowledgment and little excitement emanating from Norman and Austin. That's fine but petty, and their bad feelings seem entirely unwarranted, given how the need for this particular scheduling madness started. Actions have consequences, although Texas got off relatively light schedule-wise versus expectations.
