Series Preview: Baylor Continues Homestand with Series against Houston Cougars

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (20-8, 4-5) will continue its five-game homestand with a series against the Houston Cougars (16-12, 3-6) this weekend at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest will start at 2 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears (20-8, 4-5)

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 432-208 (12th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 57-70 (3rd season) 

Notable Opponents:

• Wins: No. 23 Arizona (2), Kansas, Kansas State, Ohio State
• Losses: No. 8 Oregon State, No. 25 Auburn, Kansas (2), Kansas State (2)

2025 Projections:

• D1Baseball: 12th in the Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 13th in the Big 12

Team Stats:

• Earned Run Average: 4.59 (6th in Big 12)
• Batting Average: .303 (5th in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .970 (9th in Big 12)
• Strength of Schedule: No. 68
• RPI: No. 34

Houston Cougars (16-12, 3-6)

Head Coach: Todd Whitting

• Career Record: 460-350 (15th season) 
• Record at Houston: 460-350 (15th season) 

Notable Opponents:

• Wins: UCF (2), TCU
• Losses: Texas Tech (3), TCU (2)

2025 Projections:

• D1Baseball: 13th in the Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 11th in the Big 12

Team Stats:

• Earned Run Average: 5.37 (11th in Big 12)
• Batting Average: .269 (13th in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .964 (13th in Big 12)
• Strength of Schedule: No. 237
• RPI: No. 150

Baylor Projected Starting Lineup

• RF: Enzo Apodaca (RSr.): (.304 BAVG, .407 OB%, 112 AB, 32 R, 14 XBH, 27 RBI)
• LF: Wesley Jordan (Sr.): (.302 BAVG, .388 OB%, 105 AB, 19 R, 14 XBH, 24 RBI)
• DH: Hunter Simmons (RSr.): (.398 BAVG, .496 OB%, 103 AB, 19 R, 13 XBH, 24 RBI)
• 3B: Pearson Riebock (Fr.): (.359 BAVG, .479 OB%, 78 AB, 17 R, 11 XBH, 16 RBI)
• 1B: Jack Little (RSo.): (.275 BAVG, .385 OB%, 109 AB, 30 R, 11 XBH, 25 RBI)
• CF Ty Johnson (Sr.): (.292 BAVG, .432 OB%, 89 AB, 19 R, 6 XBH, 23 RBI)
• 2B: Travis Sanders (RSo.): (.345 BAVG, .458 OB%, 58 AB, 20 R, 6 XBH, 8 RBI)
• SS: Tyriq Kemp (Sr.): (.340 BAVG, .432 OB%, 100 AB, 28 R, 12 XBH, 20 RBI)
• C: JJ Kennett (So.): (.277 BAVG, .443 OB%, 47 AB, 11 R, 6 XBH, 18 RBI)

Baylor Projected Bench

• C: Cortlan Castle (Sr.): (.261 BAVG, .370 OB%, 46 AB, 6 R, XBH, 4 RBI)
• 1B: Gavin Brzozowski (RSo.): (.238 BAVG, .377 OB%, 42 AB, 12 R, 7 RBI)
• 3B: Hunter Teplanszky (Sr.): (.167 BAVG, .295 OB%, 36 AB, 4 R, XBH, 7 RBI)

*2025 Stats: (BAVG = Batting Average, OB% = On-Base Percentage, AB = At-Bats, R = Runs, XBH = Extra Base Hits, RBI = Runs Batted In)*

Probable Starting Pitchers

• BU SP 1 – LHP: Ethan Calder (Jr.); (3-3, 5.80 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 7 GS)
• UH SP 1 – RHP: Paul Schmitz (Jr.); (3-2, 4.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 33.2 IP, 7 GS)
• BU SP 2 – LHP: Carson Bailey (Fr.); (2-1, 6.67 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 25.2 IP, 7 GS)
• UH SP 2 – RHP: Richie Roman (So.); (0-4, 5.25 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 24 IP, 4 GS)
• BU SP 3 – TBD
• UH SP 3 – TBD

*2025 Stats: (ERA = Earned Run Average, WHIP = Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched, GS = Games Started)*

Houston Projected Starting Lineup

• CF: Tre Broussard (So.): (.374 BAVG, .364 OB%, 113 AB, 20 R, 11 XBH, 13 RBI)
• DH: Connor McGinnis (Jr.): (.373 BAVG, .490 OB%, 75 AB, 30 R, 15 XBH, 20 RBI)
• RF: Xavier Perez (RSo.): (.388 BAVG, .461 OB%, 88 AB, 24 R, 18 XBH, 31 RBI)
• 3B: Aaron Lugo (Sr.): (.309 BAVG, .396 OB%, 97 AB, 15 R, 12 XBH, 27 RBI)
• LF: Cade Climie (Sr.): (.293 BAVG, .443 OB%, 82 AB, 20 R, 11 XBH, 22 RBI)
• 1B: Carsten Sabathia (Jr.): (.260 BAVG, .341 OB%, 73 AB, 14 R, 7 XBH, 17 RBI)
• 2B: Jackson Lalima (Fr.): (.167 BAVG, .242 OB%, 30 AB, 2 R, XBH)
• SS: Tyler Cox (Jr.): (.250 BAVG, .325 OB%, 72 AB, 15 R, 2 XBH, 14 RBI)
• C: Riley Jackson (So.): (.170 BAVG, .403 OB%, 53 AB, 11 R, 5 XBH, 9 RBI)

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what he’s seen from his team lately:

• “I think we’ve been playing good defense and getting enough out of our pitching. If we can keep making small little improvements [with starting pitching], then we’re going to be great and have a really good ball club. I still don’t think our offense is clicking at 100% yet. There are days when you see it start to happen, and it’s exciting, but there’s still room for improvement. That’s what we’re constantly preaching to these guys: ‘Keep moving. Keep going forward. Keep pushing. Keep trying to get better.’”

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what he sees from Houston:

• “They have a good club. They are 16-12 and they’ve got some really good arms. They have some speed and athleticism in the lineup. Broussard is 20-for-20 on stolen bases, so he’s a dynamic athlete. They have a club that can compete. They will be a big challenge for us.”

Head coach Mitch Thompson on the importance of winning a series at home:

• “It’s always important to win at home. We’ve had good success here, but we have to keep it up. It looks like we’re going to fight some weather issues this weekend and deal with some of that. It’s just another little distraction we’ll have to fight our way through. It’s important to play in front of the home crowd. It’s important to win. It’s important to stay in your home bed, it makes it easier.”

Left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl (Jr.) on Baylor finding different ways to win games:

• “That was the first walk-off of the year. Honestly, we haven’t played that many close ball games, so it’s been cool to see we can win in different ways, whatever that may be. Whether it’s putting a big spot out early and holding onto that or coming from behind, where we’ll be able to walk it off.”

Shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) on playing well in recent weeks both at the plate and in the field:

• “I feel pretty locked in. It’s been going good and the team has been playing good, so we have to keep going this weekend.”

More Baseball Reading:

• Baylor Clinches Key Road Series Win Over No. 23 Arizona, Eyes Winnable Stretch Ahead
• From Struggles to Success: Tyriq Kemp's Journey to Refind His Signature Spark
• Faith, Injury and Hope: The Resilient Return of Hunter Simmons
• The Power of Belief: Will Glatch's Path from Setbacks to Standout Reliever