Baylor Soccer Spring Check-In: Six Games, Five Gamedays, Four New Faces

Heading into the third Spring at the helm of the Baylor Soccer program, Michelle Lenard and her team are focused on conquering the next step ahead of them to move up the Big 12 standings next fall and make a run at the NCAA tournament. This Spring, the Bears will play in six exhibition games across five gamedays while working to integrate four new players who moved to campus in January.

Motto Moving Forward

The choice of the word “conquer” above was made by the team. Conquer is their word for the year. Coach Lenard explained that it is not about just winning or being aggressive; It is about fighting and overcoming boldly. The players are focused on taking the next big step, the step that is right in front of them. Growing confidence and conquering fears and inhibitions were also mentioned by Coach Lenard when diving deeper into the meaning of the motto.

Spring Exhibition Schedule

The first step in front of what will be the 2024 version of Baylor Soccer is a Spring slate of six games through March and April.

• VS Texas A&M 1 PM March 23rd
• VS Incarnate Word 4:15 PM March 23rd
• VS Tyler JC 6 PM March 28th
• VS Texas State 7 PM April 5th
• AT Arkansas* (in Frisco, TX) 3:30 PM April 14th
• VS Oklahoma 5 PM April 20th

The reason for the doubleheader on March 23rd is that the NCAA only allows five gamedays in the Spring, but does allow for more than five games. The Texas A&M game will serve to challenge essentially the upper half of the roster while also serving as a test to see if the middle of the roster is ready for that level of competition. Incarnate Word will challenge the bottom of the roster — especially younger players — to work them up to the speed and physicality of the college game without putting those players in situations that would not aid their development.

Each game can be seen somewhere on this spectrum despite not being a part of a doubleheader. Arkansas and Texas A&M are good SEC programs, both making the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2023. The Razorbacks also took home the SEC regular season championship last year to give some context for the strength of these opponents.

Transfers and Early Enrollees

Another key part of the Spring is integrating new players into the team. This year, of the six-person incoming freshman class, two enrolled in January. 

Alysiah Lockette, a winger from Colorado Springs, boasts a great combination of speed, athleticism and Soccer IQ according to coach Lenard. She is already one of the three fastest players on the team and will be competing for minutes right away this Spring. The key to seeing her earn playing time in the Fall will be how quickly she understands Baylor’s game model and how she adapts to the speed of the college game.

Paisley Mabra is the other early enrollee, and she has arguably even more credentials from her high school career. The Midlothian, Texas native played for Solar Soccer Club in the ECNL, one of the top clubs in the nation. Many great Big 12 players have come from the club and this has given Mabra valuable experience against top-level competition for her age group. Coach Lenard also highlighted her passing and communication skills from her typically center back position. Mabra could be used at outside back as well as she competes for minutes.

In addition to these two freshmen, another pair of players transferred into Baylor over the Christmas break: Kai Hayes (UNC) and Azul Alvarez (TCU).

Hayes, a midfielder is a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. She is coming from North Carolina, the top women’s soccer program in the nation over the last four decades. Hayes only played in 18 games as a Tarheel and had an injury that kept her sidelined for her entire junior season (2022). Despite this, Hayes earned co-captaincy of the Heels’ 2023 squad, likely a testament to her work ethic, leadership and mentality. 

When talking about Hayes, Coach Lenard noted how she brings so much more to the table than her play, but that is high-level on its own. The transfer is naturally a defensive midfielder but has adaptability throughout the midfield. A key connection to make when discussing Kai Hayes is the mentality she can bring from a top-level program to this Baylor team that wants and needs to compete better with the Big 12 favorites.

One of the consistent favorites in the Big 12 has been TCU. Last year, Coach Lenard brought Tyler Isgrig in from Fort Worth and this offseason goalkeeper Azul Alvarez made the move as well. Alvarez, an Austin native, was looking to get closer to home despite being ready to step into the starting role at TCU. Now the 5-foot-10 shot-stopper will compete with fellow rising junior Ashlee Zirkel for the starting role here in Waco. 

Alvarez does boast youth national team experience for Mexico and plays well with the ball at her feet. Having multiple starting quality options is good for competition in the room, as we saw with Makinzie Short and Zirkel pushing each other last season.

There are plenty of other competitions to monitor and development from young players to watch through the Spring, so consider going out to watch the team at any of the five Waco games or the game against Arkansas in Frisco. The home games are free and open to the public. Also, check back here for more coverage of Baylor Soccer!