Fall Baseball Underway: Mitch Thompson Talks Roster, New Pitching Coach & More

On Monday, Baylor baseball head coach Mitch Thompson spoke with the media to discuss the beginning of fall ball and his outlook on this year's team. Above is the video from the presser, and below is the printed recap of the media session.

WACO, Texas – Fall baseball started last week for Baylor, officially signaling the beginning of the third season of the Mitch Thompson era. 

As the Bears return to the diamond, they look to put the disappointing 2024 season behind them, where they went 22-31 and missed the Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive year.

"We really are just looking to put that in the past and focus on what's ahead," outfielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) said Monday. "Obviously, that's going to be in the back of our minds—it's hard to ignore—but we're just focused on the future and the right now."

"You always have to be turning the page," left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder (Jr.) added. "Even when you have a good day, you have to turn the page. That's just what baseball is. Somedays, you will go 3-3, 4-4, and the next day, you're 0-4. It's always about turning the page. We got a new, good group of guys, so we'll turn the page with them."

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On paper, the Bears’ biggest strength this season will be their lineup, anchored by a trio of all-conference-caliber outfielders: Enzo Apodaca (RSr.), Wesley Jordan (Sr.) and Ty Johnson (Sr.)

This fall, the Bears want to ensure that the little things don't go unnoticed. After back-to-back losing seasons, Baylor must develop good habits starting in September.

"Attention to detail is something that has been preached to us all fall so far," Johnson said. "Guys are taking to that, and 'How you do anything is how you do everything.' I think that [following that mantra] is building a culture around here that will lead to more wins."

With a mix of talented but inexperienced pitching and a solid, veteran lineup, Thompson has high hopes for his squad and noted that this team "without question" is the deepest one he's had in his Baylor tenure. 

"In my view, this is the most depth we've had on the mound and position player-wise," he said. "That's exciting to see. When I say there's competition on the field, there's competition at every position. It'll be fun sifting through the guys and sifting through the options that we have and watching the cream rise to the top."

Johnson added to that, saying, "I'm confident in what we have. We have a lot of old guys returning, but we also have a lot of young guys pushing the older guys to be better. A lot of the freshmen coming in have shown good stuff so far this fall, and it's only going to push us to be better because you're always fighting for a spot. There are no spots guaranteed."

On paper, the Bears' biggest strength this season will be their lineup, anchored by a trio of all-conference-caliber outfielders: Enzo Apodaca (RSr.), Wesley Jordan (Sr.) and Johnson.

"It's tough to build if you can't keep your guys here, and I was thrilled that the guys all wanted to stay," Thompson said. "This is where they wanted to be and who they wanted to be with, [even though] we've had a couple of tough years."

Last spring, Thompson's squad suffered a rash of injuries, with outfielders Hunter Simmons (RJr.) and Gavin Brzozowski (RJr.) and infielder Jack Little (RSo.) all being lost for the year within the first week of the season. Baylor's lineup will get a major boost with those three key players back and healthy.

"All of them are making real progress," Thompson said. "When you lose as many guys as we did out of the lineup early in the year, to see those guys come back, and they're all ahead of where I thought they would be at this point in time, that's exciting."

After two seasons in which the Bears were virtually dead last in the conference in every pitching category, Thompson parted ways with pitching coach James Leverton and brought in Sean Snedeker from Lamar this offseason. Throughout his 30-plus year coaching career, Snedeker has helped produce 38 MLB draft picks, five All-Americans, five conference pitchers of the year and 29 all-conference selections.

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Over half of the players on Baylor’s fall roster are newcomers with roughly half being freshmen and half being transfers.

"He's an ultra-successful guy who is an excellent communicator; he's had all the success, and you can see that at his previous stops," Thompson said. "I'm excited about what I'm seeing right now from him and the guys. They're developing a great relationship. He's got a plan for every guy, and I think there will be a lot of growth as they go through the fall."

At Lamar, Snedeker coached the Cardinals to the country's second-lowest ERA (3.79) in 2024 and the sixth-lowest in 2023 (3.96). Last season, Baylor's pitching staff struggled with throwing strikes, especially, and led the Big 12 in free passes issued (340). With Snedeker now in charge, the Bears will emphasize hitting the strike zone first and foremost.

"The whole focus every time that they're throwing is about strikes, strikes, strikes, strikes, strikes, strikes, strikes," Thompson added. "Being able to throw multiple pitches for strikes, challenging the zone and trusting your stuff, he's been great at sending that message."

Calder, who earned Second-Team All-Big 12 honors last spring, led Baylor in ERA (3.23), WHIP (1.11), and wins (5) and has completely bought into Snedeker's approach in their short time together.

"He's awesome; his demeanor changes things," Calder said. "Guys are filling up the zone, and he's teaching me new things. He's using a lot of the technology to bring everything together, but also bringing that 'We gotta throw strikes' mentality. The new mentality is different and better."

Baylor Athletics

As the Bears return to the diamond, they look to put the disappointing 2024 season behind them, where they went 22-31 and missed the Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive year.

Even with Snedeker's arrival, Baylor has many question marks on the mound entering the season, and it'll arguably determine the team's ceiling in Thompson's third year. It's not that the pitching staff is devoid of talent; it's just that most of the arms don't have a ton of proven Division I production.

On Monday, Thompson mentioned some of the newcomers that have caught his attention so far: LHP Carson Bailey (Fr.), Hendrix transfer LHP Bryson Bales (RSr.), Northwestern State transfer LHP Caleb Bunch (Sr.), Blinn JC transfer RHP Lucas Davenport (RSo.), Paris JC transfer LHP Caleb Jamison (Jr.), Tyler JC transfer RHP Grayson Murry (Jr.) and McLennan CC transfer LHP Stefan Stahl (Jr.). 

Calder added to that, saying, "Carson Bailey has a really good arm. A lot of the JUCO transfer arms are really good and fill up the zone. We have a lot of different things that we've added, including a lot of strike throwers, which is definitely good."

As the fall continues, Thompson and the Bears will scrimmage multiple times per week in preparation for the start of the season in February.