As Baylor baseball’s Opening Day matchup against New Mexico State (Feb. 13) approaches, it’s time to start breaking down the roster, plus the biggest storylines and questions heading into the 2026 season. Today, we’ll assess the top returning players from last year’s roster.
Travis Sanders: Redshirt Junior Shortstop
Travis Sanders, the Copperas Cove native, is coming off a season in which he was second on the team in most offensive categories — batting average (.335), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.549) and home runs (8) — only behind his good friend and roommate, Tyriq Kemp.
Sanders started 43 contests, tallied 16 multi-hit games and batted .318 in league play with five home runs and 17 RBIs, en route to being named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team.
With Kemp being selected in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals, Sanders is being tasked with sliding over from second base to shortstop to captain the Bears’ defense this spring, while being an anchor toward the top of the lineup.
“Trav did a really nice job this fall. He’s an athletic guy. He was drafted high out of high school and is pretty good as a shortstop, but we had Tyriq there last year,” head coach Mitch Thompson said on Jan. 16. “Man, when you saw Tyriq make the plays that he made last year, you understood, but Travis had a really nice fall, and we’re expecting big things out of him.”
Last year, Baylor returned its entire outfield — Wesley Jordan, Ty Johnson and Enzo Apodaca — and was anticipating them to carry the lineup. Instead, the Bears were led by Kemp, Sanders and Pearson Riebock, while Apodaca and Jordan, in particular, struggled throughout most of the season to meet their preseason expectations.
There’s no similar worry that Sanders will succumb to the pressure of “being the guy” this spring, as he embraces it and maintains a very relaxed, chill demeanor.
When asked about why he decided to stay at Baylor this offseason instead of going elsewhere, he said, “I’m grateful and blessed to be here. It makes it easy knowing I’m an hour away from home. I’m a 254 guy, and being close to home is nice, but I didn’t want to go anywhere. I had no desire to go anywhere else. This is my home, and I don’t want to go anywhere else for the rest of my college career.”
Pearson Riebock: Sophomore Second Baseman
The player on Baylor’s roster most likely to have a breakout year could be sophomore infielder Pearson Riebock, as he is expected to be a staple toward the top of the Bears’ lineup in 2026.
The Rockwall native earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors last season after starting 48 games and boasting a .306 batting average, .406 on-base percentage and a .454 slugging percentage.
In conference play, Riebock had the third-highest batting average (.296) on the team and hit two home runs to go along with 14 RBIs. He logged 18 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games and posted a 17-game on-base streak from April 18 to May 17.
As a true freshman, Riebock did a commendable job playing third base last spring but has moved over to a more natural position at second base and should have a much better year defensively as well.
If the Bears are in a bind defensively, as they found themselves at times last year, the coaching staff trusts Riebock’s versatility to play multiple spots in the infield or outfield, if needed. Riebock was an option to play a corner outfield spot this season before the emergence of freshmen Hunter Snow and Brady Janusek.
Grayson Murry: Senior Right-Handed Pitcher
One of the biggest questions that the Bears face this year is how they will replace their All-American closer, Gabe Craig. Craig led the nation in WHIP (0.50) and ERA (0.56) last spring and was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Philies.
“It takes a couple of guys building in or coming into new roles to try to fill those innings,” senior left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder said about replacing Craig. “But I think we have the guys to do that. We have the stuff to do that. But you’re not going to go out there and immediately try to replace a Gabe Craig, right? He’s the best pitcher I’ve seen come through here. So it’s going to take a couple of different guys to kind of fill in those roles and those closing roles.”
One of those players who could replace a bulk of Craig’s production is senior right-handed pitcher Grayson Murry. After coming over from Tyler Junior College — the same place as Craig — ahead of the 2025 season, Murry had an excellent season out of the bullpen for the Bears, with a 2.19 ERA, a .181 batting average against and a 1.01 WHIP across 18 appearances.
The 6-foot-5 righty has a funky arm slot that hitters struggle to make solid contact off, as he struck out 24 and walked just 10 in 24.2 innings last spring and tallied 12 scoreless and six hitless performances.
Baylor’s weekend rotation will likely be a combination of Calder, junior left-handed pitcher Mason Green, redshirt junior Lucas Davenport and senior Wisconsin Whitewater transfer Cade Hansen, leaving Murry to be used exclusively out of the backend of the bullpen. Whether he’s Baylor’s go-to closer is to be determined, but Murry will most definitely be getting the ball in high-leverage situations more often than not.
