Baylor Baseball: 2025 Review, Plus End-of-Season Survey Results

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Mitch Thompson’s third season as head coach of the Baylor baseball program has come to an end. The Bears (33-22; 13-17 Big 12) took a noticeable step forward compared to previous years but ultimately came up short of their season’s goal of making the NCAA Tournament.

Last week, I sent out a survey consisting of 12 questions — seven multiple-choice and five free-response questions. Over 100 responses were gathered, and I’ll break down the answers and reflect on this year while looking forward to a critical offseason as well. As a caveat, I only included answers that got at least 5% of the vote.

What would you consider this season? (Multiple answers were acceptable)

• Disappointment (71%), Failure (15%), Success (15%), Improvement (8%)

Was this roster capable of making the NCAA Tournament?

• Yes (66%), No (18%), Unsure (16%)

The first question is tricky because I believe there are multiple correct answers. Yes, winning 33 games — 11 more than 2024 — is undoubtedly a step forward for the program. However, with a senior-heavy roster and a lighter schedule, this team ultimately proved to be a disappointment, both in my opinion and to most of the voters, considering the Bears failed to reach their season’s goal of making the NCAA Tournament.

The casual narrative will be that 30-plus wins is progress, which isn’t necessarily untrue. Still, for those who have paid close attention throughout the season and were familiar with the roster Baylor had on paper entering the spring, it’s fair to say they left quite a bit on the table.

That doesn’t mean I envisioned this team being a legitimate contender for the conference championship, but I don’t think going 15-15 or 16-14 in Big 12 play was that tough of an ask. 

Had Baylor flipped two of its four brutal losses to Houston and Texas Tech and picked up one more win over Arizona State or Oklahoma State, most people would probably be making plans to attend a Regional this weekend. The margin for error is very thin, and Baylor repeatedly came out on the wrong side of that in the latter half of the year.

What was the biggest bright spot from this season?

• Pitching (27%), Tyriq Kemp (21%), Gabe Craig (16%), Pearson Riebock (8%), Winning Record (8%), Travis Sanders (6%), Arizona Series (5%)

Roughly 27% of the people who filled out the survey said that pitching was the biggest bright spot this season. What first-year pitching coach Sean Snedeker was able to do was remarkable, considering the unknowns he was working with entering the season.

That’s not to say Baylor didn’t have talent on the roster; it’s more so that only one player on the team had proven, high-level Power Four production going into the year, Ethan Calder (Jr.). Even in Calder’s case, he went from an All-Big 12 reliever to being thrust into starting on Fridays.

In one offseason, the Bears went from virtually the bottom of the Big 12 in every single pitching category to the upper half of the conference in earned run average (4.52), batting average against (.252), WHIP (1.33) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (442:132).

Was the pitching perfect? No, but it kept Baylor in the majority of games this season, despite suffering a few blows along the way, including the best pitcher in the fall, Mason Green (So.), having to miss the first half of the year with an injury, relievers Will Glatch (Sr.) and Hunter Teplanszky (Sr.) getting hurt down the stretch, Cape Cod All-Star Bryson Bales (6Sr.) not coming close to meeting expectations and Carson Bailey (Fr.) being unavailable for most of May.

The two biggest success stories this season were the play of shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) and right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig (RSr.), both of whom deservedly received First-Team All-Big 12 honors.

Kemp led the Bears with 72 hits, including 14 doubles, one triple and a career-high seven home runs. He had a team-high .446 on-base percentage and had the third-highest batting average (.389) in the Big 12 during conference play.

In the regular season, Kemp ranked second among Big 12 shortstops and eighth nationally with 11.45 defensive runs saved. The Netherlands native committed only eight errors and fielded at a .966 clip, which was one of the best defensive seasons by a Baylor shortstop in the Statcrew Era (since 2003).

Meanwhile, Craig logged 10 saves, 22 scoreless outings, 14 hitless outings and struck out at least two batters 16 times. He finished the spring on a 20.1-inning scoreless streak across his last 12 appearances, a stretch that spanned back to April 4.

Craig held opponents to a .124 batting average and led the country with an outstanding 0.56 ERA, a 0.50 WHIP and a 51:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 32 innings of work.

What was the most disappointing thing from this season?

• Hitting (40%), Self-Inflicted Wounds/Inconsistency (14%), Defense (11%), Senior Bats (11%), Questionable Coaching Decisions (10%)

In some form or fashion, most people who filled out the survey said the offense was the most disappointing aspect of this season.

There are plenty of things to nitpick here and there, but in my opinion, terrible situational hitting ultimately kept Baylor from getting three or four more conference wins and making the NCAA Tournament.

After the series win over No. 23 Arizona in early April, the Bears hit .216 (78-for-360) with runners on and .214 (52-for-243) with runners in scoring position across the final seven series of conference play, plus the 4-3 loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament. 

That is an unfathomably bad number, considering there were six seniors in the lineup on a daily basis, along with two all-conference honorable mention infielders, Travis Sanders (RSo.) and Pearson Riebock (Fr.). Speaking of seniors, only Kemp and catcher Cortlan Castle (Sr.) met or exceeded preseason expectations out of that group, which was very disappointing.

I did a deep dive a couple of weeks ago on the offensive struggles, but essentially, what was viewed as the team’s biggest strength turned into its most significant weakness over the course of the season.

Others also expressed their frustration with the team’s inability to avoid self-inflicted wounds down the stretch, with one person saying, “the resolve of the team” was the most disappointing thing. They added that the Bears, “fell apart way too often and the only consistent part of the team was the falling apart.”

Needing to win four games in four days to make the NCAA Tournament, it felt like the 4-3 loss to Oklahoma State in the opener of the Big 12 Tournament was a microcosm of the season.

The Bears blew a 3-1 lead down the stretch following a pair of brutal errors, some questionable coaching decisions, a missed strike-three call and continued struggles to get a “timely hit.” Baylor out-hit Oklahoma State in the defeat, 7-to-5, but went 1-for-13 (.077) with runners on and 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.

What was the confidence in this year’s pitching staff?

• 1 (N/A), 2 (17%), 3 (53%), 4 (29%), 5 (N/A)

What was the confidence in this year’s lineup?

• 1 (16%), 2 (42%), 3 (32%), 4 (11%), 5 (N/A)

What was the confidence in this year’s defense?

• 1 (8%), 2 (35%), 3 (45%), 4 (13%), 5 (N/A)

*scale of one-to-five with one being the lowest confidence and five being the highest confidence*

Unsurprisingly, the majority of people who filled out the survey felt fairly confident about the pitching staff, lacked confidence in the lineup and had mixed feelings about the defense.

Overall, the defense had virtually the same fielding percentage as last year, but it felt like in big moments, some terrible errors would rear their ugly heads. Examples include the Friday losses to Houston and Texas Tech, as well as the Big 12 Tournament loss to Oklahoma State.

Next season, the Bears will get more athletic in the corner outfield spots and improve in the corner infield spots. It’ll be tough to make up for the loss of Kemp at shortstop, though, who is expected to be selected in the MLB Draft later this summer.

What is the most important thing Mitch Thompson should do this offseason?

• Upgrade Roster via Transfer Portal (30%), Add Proven Bats (25%), Upgrade Pitching Staff (11%), Retain Talent on Roster (8%), Raise More Money (7%), Hire New Hitting Coach (6%), Improve Team’s Mental Toughness (5%)

What is your confidence in Mitch Thompson moving forward?

• 1 (11%), 2 (25%), 3 (39%), 4 (20%), 5 (5%)

Confidence in head coach Mitch Thompson is waning, with 39% of the survey takers voting a three on a scale of one to five, where five represents the highest level of confidence and one represents the lowest. 

I asked myself the question last May, “If he can’t get it off the ground in year three, will he ever?” This felt like the season when the program could take a significant step forward, given everything they had on paper, and it didn’t really happen. Now, you’re staring at three straight disappointing years, and you have to replace over half of your lineup.

Baylor will have to make splashes in the transfer portal that it hasn’t made in three years under Thompson. The reality is you’re not going to grab an elite mid-major player that’s pretty much an SEC lock. However, you can find more players like Sanders, who was buried on the depth chart at Texas Tech because of injuries, and Northwestern State’s Caleb Bunch in the transfer portal. 

First-Team All-Big 12 pitchers Tommy LaPour (TCU) and Harrison Bodendorf (Oklahoma State) transferred from Wichita State and Hawaii, respectively. These players are out there, but Baylor has to really lean into finding the overlooked gems.

Obviously, this is a crucial offseason for Thompson. Arguably, the moves Thompson makes or doesn’t make over the next month or so could determine whether he remains in Waco past 2026.

What are your expectations for next season?

• NCAA Tournament (58%), Bubble Team (25%), .500 Team (9%), Under .500 Team (4%)

In terms of how the offseason unfolds, there is still a lot up in the air with the House Settlement unresolved, with less than a week before the transfer portal opens on Monday, June 2. We still don’t know what roster limits will be for next year or whether there will be a “salary cap” for schools to adhere to, among many other things.

Regardless, most people still have high expectations for Thompson’s squad next year, and the good news begins with the pitching staff. Almost every significant contributor, except Craig, has remaining eligibility and should return next spring. As long as Snedeker stays in Waco, I feel good about the pitching staff, although I’d still hope they look to add a piece or two to the weekend rotation.

In the transfer portal era, you have to re-recruit your roster every offseason, and the next order of business is making sure Sanders and Riebock return next year, both of whom received All-Big 12 honorable mention. Sanders and Riebock are proven above-average position players who will be important pieces in a lineup next year that will surely have a lot of new faces.

Outside of those two, there are a lot of question marks position-player-wise. You’d hope that some incoming true freshmen — Cash McDade, Dylan Perez, TJ Woodson — or former highly touted recruits — Hunter Snow (RFr.) and Brayden Buchanan (RSo.) — can develop, take some steps forward and become key pieces next spring, but that’s not a given.

I don’t think you’d want to be in a position where you’re counting on more than one or two of those unproven underclassmen to do a ton of the heavy lifting, so the transfer portal is going to be very important this summer to add some experience and pop to the lineup.

Without a handful of portal additions, it’s risky business relying on a bunch of question marks. Thompson understands that there needs to be urgency this summer, but if the Bears play it safe, as they’ve done in the portal over the last few offseasons, it’s very realistic that the lineup could be worse next year.

More Baseball Reading

• What Could Have Been: Baylor's Once Promising Season Ends in Familiar Frustration
• Falling Off the Bubble: How Baylor's Offensive Struggles Undid Its Season
• From Struggles to Success: Tyriq Kemp's Journey to Refind His Signature Spark
• The Power of Belief: Will Glatch's Path from Setbacks to Standout Reliever
• Faith, Injury and Hope: The Resilient Return of Hunter Simmons

Baylor Baseball: 2025 Offseason Thread