Author’s Note: Every quote in this article is from Baylor Soccer head coach Michelle Lenard. The primary interview for this piece was conducted on December 4th, 2025. Due to my lack of productivity, excess of procrastination and sheer forgetfulness, this piece is being published three months later. My sincerest apologies to Michelle, her staff and her team. Your great season deserved better than that. But better late than never, I hope.
The 2025 Baylor Soccer season saw Michelle Lenard’s team come one win away from the Elite Eight, the program's current record finish achieved in both 2017 and 2018. The Bears of Betty Lou also turned an 8-8-5 record in 2024 into a 14-5-4, scoring 8 more goals and producing an All-American in senior midfielder Tyler Isgrig.
How did Coach Lenard build her team to this peak in her fourth year at the helm of the program? What were the turning points in the season? Who were some of the key players behind the success? What did we learn about the program, the players and the coach this year? And what is the next step for Baylor Soccer after such a successful year?
All those questions will be addressed in this 2025 Baylor Soccer Season Review!
Get ready, it's a long one.
Jump to sections: 1) Overview | 2) Key Players | 3) Lessons & Direction| 4) Roster Turnover | 5) Contract Extension | 6) Final Thoughts
1) A Brief Overview of the Season
Put most succinctly, an aggravatingly slow start gave way to big wins against SEC teams and a five-game win streak that was snapped at the start of conference play by Texas Tech. Another five-game win streak immediately after that loss showed the Bears had taken a step forward as a program before small injuries started to pile up as the postseason loomed. An incredible win in penalty kicks against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament helped the Bears secure a host site for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and Baylor parlayed that into a second-round win against Wisconsin before falling 1-0 to Ohio State in double overtime in the Sweet Sixteen.
It was a heck of a ride to witness, but there is more to dive into. Coach Lenard shared some thoughts on what certain games meant to the team and how they handled the adversity that came their way throughout the season. With Baylor coming one win away from matching the program’s best-ever finish (Elite Eight appearances in 2017 and 2018), more detail is warranted on their journey.
So we start with the “aggravatingly slow start”. Those are my own words and feelings toward the Bears’ first two games of 2025. The opener at Texas A&M saw the Bears down 1-0 early after a defensive lapse, and they could only tie it up in the 81st minute. Similarly, Baylor struggled to find a goal against a Denver side playing with only ten players for 70 minutes, drawing 0-0.
“Here we go again” was the immediate thought for me, having covered every season of Michelle Lenards’ four-year tenure at Baylor, her Bears had not shown killer instinct as a team yet. Maybe it's harsh, but they had struggled for years find ways to score and ways to win. The build-up would be nice; they were working their way towards truly competing with tournament teams and conference favorites, but could not seem to make the key plays when it counted most. Draws like Denver were evidence of that in my eyes, and I worried about seeing another Baylor team that looked better than their record reflects at the end of the year.
Then freshman midfielder Olivia Hess scored in the fourth minute of the Bears’ home opener against No. 17 Mississippi State. Baylor played aggressive, attacking soccer with unwavering intent and showed that they would make this year different. Junior midfielder Aryanna Jimison iced the game late to make it a 2-0 win over a team that ended up being a No. 6 seed in the NCAAs.
“We were frustrated with that [the ties], but it was early. We're trying to still get some things to click. And so then, to your point, the Mississippi State game was a big result. I think it really did a lot to boost our confidence and make us feel like, ‘All right, what we're feeling is real, and there's something really there.’ And I think built our belief, which was probably what was needed more than anything at that point in the season.”
But one game could just be a fluke, right? A 1-0 win the next week against in-state rivals Texas proved these Bears were not the same as Coach Lenard’s previous teams in Waco. They were turning the corner and finding ways to win. They were also 2-0-1 against the SEC, a very good conference in college soccer.
Add a 4-1 win at Texas State, where senior and star midfielder Tyler Isgrig scored a brace, plus a 2-0 win over Abilene Christian, and that equaled an undefeated non-conference season for the Bears. 5-0-2, one draw better than the 2024 squads’ 5-1-1 mark and against a tougher schedule this time.
But the momentum came to a screeching halt when a mistimed tackle gave Texas Tech a penalty in the 72nd minute. In a stalemate of a game, that penalty was the difference, handing Baylor a 1-0 loss — the Bears’ first of the season. Maybe Baylor still couldn’t win the big ones.
“The Tech loss at home, that could have been a turning point for us. And here's why: We played fine in the first half, and it was tied. And then in the second half, they slightly changed the way they were pressing. After the game, we really felt like we caved too quickly on the way that we wanted to play in that game. And it really played right into Tech and how they wanted to do things … It shifted that game. And then it still probably should have ended up being a tie, but we did not feel good about the way we played in the second half. And so we sat down as a team and thought and talked. ‘This is who we are. This is how we play. This is our identity. We’ve got to stick with it under all circumstances.’ And so that was maybe the most important turning point, because that came up as the season went on, as teams pressed us and tried to trap us. They wanted to take us out of our style of play. So the Tech game was a big turning point, when I think about it that way.”
With that, doubling down on their identity, the Bears would bounce back in a major way six days later against No. 14 Kansas in Lawrence. A 3-0 win against the Jayhawks propelled Baylor into that second five-game win streak. It was an impressive win over a team that would also make the Sweet Sixteen, and it was the game I originally asked Coach Lenard about when thinking of a midseason turning point.
The Bears’ swing through the Sunflower State delivered another 3-0 win in Manhattan as Baylor worked around travel issues created by both host schools having home football games that weekend. But those issues helped Baylor Soccer practice at locking in on what was most important: the results on the field.
A 3-0 home win against Iowa State preceded two of the more entertaining — if not heart attack-inducing — games of the season.
First, Colorado visited Betty Lou Mayes Field and had a back-and-forth affair with the Bears. Aryanna Jimison scored once in each half, but the Buffaloes appeared to answer both times. Except the 89th-minute set-piece equalizer was called offside, and the Bears survived 2-1.
Then a strong BYU squad came to Waco, and the teams lit up the scoreboard in a six-goal thriller. Baylor fell down 1-0 and later 2-1 before Tyler Isgrig scored twice in six minutes flip the game on its head. Junior forward Theresa McCullough netted an insurance goal, and the Bears won 4-2 to make it a five-game heater heading into a rivalry matchup at TCU.
This was also the game that cemented Isgrig as the top midfielder in the Big 12, in my opinion, but more on that later.
TCU knocked the Bears down a peg or two with a physical 3-0 beatdown. It was just the Bears’ second loss, but injuries to Aryanna Jimison and key junior defender Natalie Vatter were concerning at the time.
“It was frustrating and disappointing. I don't know how much of a turning point it was. I think it was just a lesson learned. You know, we tried to tweak some things, and it didn't work out.”
Vatter returned three days later and played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win against Utah, but Jimison would miss both that game and the 2-1 loss at UCF before returning to play 16 minutes in the Bears' 1-1 draw at Houston.
Baylor finished the regular season with a 2-0 win at Oklahoma State, but the 2-2-1 stretch to finish conference play after the 5-1-0 start had me concerned about postseason potential. Had the Bears run out of steam already?
Through the first half of the Bears’ Big 12 Tournament first-round game against Texas Tech, it looked like Baylor had spent all their energy for the season. I’ll let Coach Lenard walk you through the rest.
“The Tech game in the Big 12 tournament … I didn't think we started well. We looked tired, and it was hot out there. And, you know, in the first half, we had like five minutes of just a disastrous start to the game. Almost got scored on in the first five minutes, then did get scored on. And I had not really had to jump on the team at any point in the season up till that point, but that was a moment that we needed a wake-up call.
“And so I remember, I didn't even let them get off the field. We hadn't walked into the locker room. And I wouldn't say I was, like, chewing them out, because they're all looking at me like, ‘All right, let us have it, coach.’ Like, we’ve got to get through this. And so just a little bit of a reminder in that moment of who we were and what we'd already accomplished, and how we were going to need to come up in the second half with a little more resilience, a little bit more confidence, and really just challenge them in that moment.
“And I was really proud of how they responded because when we played against TCU, we didn't respond well in the second half. But in this game, we're losing at halftime to a top conference opponent who's beaten us the last couple of occasions we've played them. I thought our second-half response was really good. I thought we were really unfortunate not to score in the run of play, and in regulation, much less overtime. And thank God we won the penalty kick shootout, because that would have been a massive disappointment, because we were the better team in the second half and in overtime. And we got better as the game went on. So I think that that game and that second half and overtime period, it was just really fun to see the team overcome that poor first half and then really rise to the occasion and come back and score a goal and then take over that game.”
For those who weren’t able to watch that game or need a refresher, senior midfielder Hannah Augustyn scored in the 55th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Then, in penalties, senior goalkeeper Azul Alvarez made a key save on the Raiders’ ninth penalty before senior backup goalkeeper Ashlee Zirkel stepped up to score the winning penalty for the Bears.
A 4-0 thrashing from BYU two days later in the semifinal can and will be glossed over despite the Bears missing an opportunity to play for the Big 12 Tournament title on home turf.
This brings us to the NCAA Tournament. Baylor made its first appearance in the field of 64 since 2018 and, therefore, its first under Michelle Lenard. A No. 5 seed for the Bears meant a rematch with Texas State, this time at the friendly confines of Betty Lou. Graduate midfielder Kai Hayes gave the Bears breathing room, and Baylor would ride the momentum to a 3-0 victory.
Baylor then traveled to South Bend, Indiana, where No. 1 overall seed Notre Dame was hosting the second and third rounds for their region of the bracket. The Bears would face No. 4-seeded Wisconsin and win a scrappy 1-0 contest. A penalty hard-earned by Hannah Augustyn on a set piece was converted by Tyler Isgrig just before halftime to make the difference.
With Ohio State upsetting Notre Dame in double overtime, the Bears had a brilliant chance to make it to the Elite Eight and match the program’s best-ever finish. Sadly, the Buckeyes found yet another double overtime winner to top the Bears 2-1 and end what was an amazing season for Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen.
Baylor Soccer landed five players on All-Big 12 teams (Isgrig and Alvarez 1st team, Hallie Augustyn and Callie Conrad 2nd team, and Olivia Hess All-Freshman team), three players on the United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region Teams (Isgrig 1st team, Alvarez 2nd team, Hallie Augustyn 3rd team), and one player — Tyler Isgrig — on the United Soccer Coaches All-American team (2nd team). Not to mention, Isgrig won Big 12 midfielder of the year, and Michelle Lenard was signed to a contract extension early in the offseason.
Those are the key points, highlights and turning points of the year.
Now it is time to dive deeper into the key figures on the 2025 Baylor Soccer team that helped propel the Bears to the second-best finish in program history.
2) The Key Players
While I could go into detail about how each rotation player on this 2025 Baylor Soccer team contributed to the success of the team, there are four players that I particularly want to highlight before this article turns forward to 2026. Three of these players have played their last collegiate game, and one, while returning next season, deserves her mention among this group. I will highlight two more returners in another section as well.
The All-American, Tyler Isgrig
Heading into 2025, Baylor needed to score more goals and was losing its second-leading scorer, Ashley Merrill. Merrill often played in the central attacking midfielder role, a.k.a. the No. 10 role. Tyler Isgrig scored 7 goals and recorded eight assists as a winger for the Bears in 2024. She wanted to move to the midfield and help create for her team. Assistant coaches Fleur Benatar and Cole Ouren pushed for Igrig’s move to the 10 as well.
Coach Lenard was not on board straight away. She needed more goals from Tyler, not fewer, and there were more defensive responsibilities for the 10 than for a winger.
“I was hesitant, because I didn't want to take our goal scorer out of a goal-scoring position. I knew Tyler could play in the midfield, and that wasn't going to be the issue, but could she create the same sort of goal-scoring opportunities in that space that she did in the forward line?”
Despite not getting a goal until game number six, Isgrig would finish the season with 10 goals and eight assists — three more goals than the year before.
The Arlington, Texas native was great in that role for many reasons, but her shooting ability from all ranges and all angles demanded constant and immediate attention from defenses. She has the ability to flip any game on its head if you give her enough time and space on the ball. A great example of this is the Bears’ regular-season contest against BYU.
The Bears fell behind 2-1 in the 53rd minute, and 13 seconds later, Isgrig had the Bears level with a strike from close to 25 yards out. Six minutes later, she switched her target from the lower right corner to the upper right corner of the goal and beat the keeper from the same range to give the Bears a 3-2 lead. Six minutes, two goals, and at the end of the day, three more points for Baylor.
Great players make great plays. Winners find ways to win. And Isgrig put in the work to take full advantage of her opportunities to do those things.
Through different conversations with Coach Lenard, she has called Isgrig a goal-scoring machine, a leader, a huge talent and a professional. After two straight years of preseason All-Big 12 accolades and an All-Big 12 second team nod after 2024, Isgrig was recognized as not only an All-Big 12 first-teamer, but also took home Big 12 Midfielder of the Year.
I think that BYU game, exactly midway through the Big 12 schedule for Baylor, was what cemented her as the frontrunner for those awards and made sure that if the team continued to win, then she would have a shot at national recognition.
And the team made the Sweet Sixteen, so it seems only right that Isgrig garnered both United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region first team honors and second team All-American.
“Transitioning from a winger into attacking mid for one season, and then having a year like that with that sort of recognition is a really big deal. And so proud of her for that, proud of the coaching staff for their ideas and their persistence and trying to get that through ... and they're different jobs, and it's not easy to just make that switch. But I think that was a big piece of our success … and the reality is your team has to have a successful season in order for your individual players to get those recognitions.”
Isgrig has now signed with AS Saint-Etienne Feminines of the French Premier League and will continue to be a poster child for Lenard’s program.
“I think it speaks to how much we're willing to invest in our players. I think it speaks to our team, our game model, what we're doing, that we were able to win, to the degree that now individual players are getting those recognitions … We are very committed to the development of our players. That's why Tyler came here. Tyler was a great player when she got here, but she knew if she bought into the idea that we were going to invest in helping her become the best version of herself, that she was going to get to play a big piece in this program's growth.”
The Fearless Captain, Kai Hayes
Transferring to Baylor from the most successful college soccer program of all time (North Carolina) ahead of the 2024 season, Hayes looked to have the potential to help Michelle Lenard’s program turn the corner and contend for postseason success.
Hayes averaged 48 minutes through 18 appearances for the Green and Gold in 2024, before starting all 23 games and playing the third-most minutes on the team this past season.
She was everywhere across the field for the Bears, scoring five goals (2nd most on the team), setting up two other goals, and making countless tackles and challenges.
“Kai Hayes is and was just a huge piece of everything that this team did this season, both on and off the field. She was our most influential leader. She's just a dog on the field, like just will run through anything, tough as nails, totally committed at all times. You get the same exact version of her every day — day in, day out — no matter what. Handled a lot of hard leadership pieces off the field, like just making sure the team was where it needed to be, making sure everyone was focused. If there was conflict, Kai was there to resolve it or to lead the team through resolving it. So her play on the field, and her leadership off the field were just an enormous, enormous piece of our success.”
It is tough to find any words to better credit Hayes than the above quote. By all accounts, Hayes was the kind of servant-leader that any program would be lucky to have, especially a program at a faith-centered institution like Baylor.
And her impact seemed to magnify as the season hit its stretch run.
Hayes scored two of her five goals during the NCAA Tournament, including the opener and winner against Texas State in the first round and the equalizer against Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen.
“Kai is a relentless competitor. She wants to win, and I think it's not just about outcomes for Kai — though Kai really, truly enjoys the process. She enjoys the journey. She's an example of someone who just embraced every single opportunity to play, never took it for granted, and wanted to do her best on every occasion. And so yes, it came up big in those moments, but Kai was like that all the time. So it wasn't like she dialed it up because we needed a goal. That's just how Kai was. And we gave her a little bit more freedom there toward the end of the year to get in the box on a few occasions. And it paid off with some goals, and she probably would have done that more had we given her that freedom earlier, but because she plays such a significant defensive role for us, it's a risk that we have to be careful to weigh.”
In a time when the pervasiveness of the transfer portal across college sports and the onset of payment for players in the revenue sports have plenty of fans checking out on collegiate athletics as a whole, Kai Hayes is a great example of the good that remains in the current climate.
A servant-leader and relentless competitor who used the transfer portal to put herself in a better position to achieve her athletic goals while still excelling academically (Academic All-Big 12 2025). A student athlete who plays in a non-revenue sport and leaves it all on the field while pouring into her teammates.
“I say all the time that Kai would hit a brick if it was in the air, if she thought it was gonna help the team… She's like, I don't know, 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds soaking wet and running through everyone and winning balls in the air. And not just a really, really special player, but a really special person.”
If that isn’t the textbook definition of what people have loved about college athletes for decades, then people need to recalibrate their definitions.
The Machine, Natalie Vatter
The one player being highlighted in this section that is set to return for the Bears in 2026, Natalie Vatter, was mentioned alongside Kai Hayes when I asked Coach Lenard who the unsung heroes of her team were.
An outside back with two assists and the fourth most minutes on the team in 2025, Vatter’s role doesn’t lend itself to the eye-catching goals of a central midfielder like Isgrig or the dramatic saves of a goalkeeper like Alvarez. But if the ball was on Vatter’s side of the field, she would be affecting the outcome of that possession, offensive or defensive.
“She's the most reliable, consistent player, and she's just solid across all phases of play,” says Coach Lenard, “She is a machine out there. She just goes and goes and goes. Nobody sees the data that we see in terms of load and distance covered, and sprint distance and these things … Natalie is crushing all those things. I mean, she probably carried the heaviest load on the team, as far as when you calculated sprint distance. She's just a machine for us.”
Up and down the right side of the field, Vatter was making tackles, winning challenges, progressing the ball forward and sending crosses into the opposition’s box. She did this consistently for the full 90 minutes in 15 of her 23 games and 100+ minutes in two other postseason games.
And Vatter was not some revelation this past season; she has been a significant contributor since her first year in Waco in 2023.
Vatter has played in 61 of 63 Baylor Soccer games over the last three years. The former transfer started in 53 of those 61 appearances and averaged 75 minutes per appearance.
She’s fast, she’s tenacious, and she keeps herself available to play. Like Coach Lenard said: a machine. It’s crazy that she needed to transfer to see the field at all.
“[She] was a red shirt freshman who was told she wasn't going to play at Ole Miss,” said Lenard, “And I mean, in my opinion, Nat should be an All-American. That's how important she was to this team.”
Luckily for Michelle and the Bears of Betty Lou, Vatter is set to return in 2026 and will continue as a leader for Baylor Soccer.
The Comeback Player of the Year, Blythe Obar
The final player to highlight in this section has possibly the best story on the roster.
Blythe Bar started her collegiate career at Division II Dallas Baptist University. After playing her freshman and sophomore seasons at DBU under Michelle Lenard — where she picked up back-to-back Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards — Obar took a leap of faith and transferred to Baylor when Lenard took the helm in Waco.
“I've known Blythe for a very long time. She committed to play for me her freshman year in high school. So she was 14 or 15 years old, you know, came to DBU and had a great first season. We went to the Final Four. Was a big-time player, but was young, and in some ways, really still needed to kind of grow up. And when I came here, that was hard for her, and I wasn't sure at the time, like, was it going to work out for her to come or not? I knew she could play at the level, but it was going to be about whether she could grow into it and mature … People really did question that decision at the time, and Blythe just kind of did her best to ignore that outside noise and just keep working.”
Through her first two years in green and gold, Obar started all 36 games for Baylor and went the full 90 minutes in 24 of those games. She was a key play to the team those years.
Then she suffered an ACL tear in the spring of 2024.
What was supposed to be her final collegiate season, one last ride with fellow DBU transfer Ashley Merrill, turned into a year on the sidelines, rehabbing and watching.
“She'd never dealt with an injury before, and so it was really hard for her mentally … I think last spring, she was struggling through not feeling like herself yet, and not being as mobile, all the things that are common for an ACL recovery. And we were talking about it daily. I think Blythe was really worried she just wasn't going to be back to her normal self at any point … I've always said Blythe is a gamer. She doesn't love training. She doesn't love the spring season. She is a gamer, and she shows up and plays, and she does what she has to do in terms of training and all that. But where she really loves being is in the middle of a game. And so when she couldn't play, and when her body wasn't doing what it used to do, it was really hard for her … So it's been really great to watch her grow through that, develop some resilience, some ability to deal with those things. She was trying to trust the process. She was putting in the work.”
Luckily, the center back returned to top form quickly as the 2025 season started. Playing in nine of the Bears’ first 11 games, Obar led the back line to a brilliant defensive record of three goals allowed and a record of 7-1-1 in her nine appearances.
All in all, the Baylor defense was very experienced in 2025, with the 79 career starts of Hallie Augustyn completing the center back pairing in front of All-Big 12 goalkeeper Azul Alvarez. But you are only as good as your weakest link, and because of Obar’s great return from injury, that was more of a question of game-by-game form than what player was consistently picked on by opposing attacks.
The team’s chemistry was also key in converting talent and potential into results, and Obar’s amiable personality was noted by her head coach as well.
“Blythe is just also someone on the team that everybody loves. She's one of those kind of glue pieces, like she gets along with everyone. She's a fun, outgoing personality. It's kind of an underrated role on a team that she literally could walk into a room and sit down with anybody and get along with that person. And so that's one of the things that helped with our cohesion and chemistry this year, is players like her, who can go over and hang out with so and so. A freshman or a sixth year, it doesn't matter to Blythe. I mean, she's just friendly with everybody, and everybody really loves being around her and enjoys being around her. So really proud of her progress over the years, really fun watching her mature and grow up, and very happy for her that she got to finish on a high note.”
“There's a number of players who grew throughout this season, but Blythe, I think, probably didn't get some of the recognition some of the other players did. But I was really proud of her, and thought that that was her best season ever.”
3) Lessons and Direction
Lessons
After most seasons, I have been able to ask Michelle Lenard what she learned about herself as a coach that year. Since she has been a college soccer coach for 21 years (18 as a head coach), it is not always a new revelation, but taking the next step in an area that she has already identified for improvement. This year, she highlighted what I consider “trusting the culture” that she has built in the program.
Here is how Coach Lenard put it:
“One of the most important things is that we have like-minded people. Because the more I tried to dial it back, the more that there are players on the team that want it, because they're like-minded now. And so it was easier to be calmer this year.”
Back in the first section — the “brief” recap of the season — I highlighted how the players pretty much asked Coach Lenard to light a fire under them after a sub-par first half against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament. A great example of the team leading itself and getting what they needed for themselves, even if it was going to Lenard for correction and motivation.
“I think that I have been better and better each year about just letting the team solve some problems in the moment and riding out some of those waves, staying a little bit more positive whenever I got frustrated. And so that's just growth, personal growth, growth for our staff. We had a couple of moments throughout the season as a staff where we got a little bit animated on the sideline. I had to be like, ‘We have to calm down so that our team can think and process and problem solve.’ And our staff grew throughout the season in managing those moments.”
The staff can and should grow each season, just like their players, but sometimes it really can be as simple as letting your previous work breathe.
“I think the biggest thing is letting our leaders lead. You know, it's easy for any coach to micromanage and to feel like they know the answer all the time. That's our job, to know the answers and solve problems. But ultimately, a team that's going to win has to have leaders, and you've got to give them freedom to lead. And so I had to let go of a few things and just let the leaders do that. And we work hard to equip them and empower them, and then we expect them to lead. And they did. It got easier and easier because they did such a great job at it. But it's something that I think is important to carry for us in the next season, is that we have season is that we have to have leaders, and we have to give them the freedom to lead.”
That is a great deal of trust to put not only in those individuals but in the program’s culture as a whole, but in a way, the trust from the staff is a repayment of trust that the players showed after the 2024 season.
That year, the Bears finished 8-8-5 and lost four games by one goal on top of their five draws. That team had the ability to earn an NCAA Tournament bid but did not live up to its potential.
“We knew last year we were on the verge, and you're one play here - one play there, one player here - one player there, away from turning that corner. And so while it looks like a big jump. To me, it wasn't that big of a job. We had a lot of success last year in terms of the playing style we had this year. And then you concede an extra goal, or you miss an extra chance, and that turns the game.
“It's fine margins at this level, and then momentum. You win the right games, you get some good momentum, your belief grows, your confidence grows. And then when you're in the next tight game, that confidence and momentum gets you over the hump. In 2024, we didn't quite have that. This year we did.”
So what made the difference? In an era where student-athletes in any sport can transfer freely, what made the majority of players buy in for another run at Baylor?
“I think we had a lot of players, and this is a big part of our success, that understood the big picture and that understood what it takes … They were truly bought into what we're trying to build. And, we talk about metrics. We go in, we take a deep dive, and I can show it to them. It's like, ‘This is not an opinion. Look how close we were.’ We could look at RPI last year and kind of where we were close on getting into the NCAA tournament. We could look at these things that affected the outcome of games more objectively. And so while we all have opinions about how we think we played and where we are as a program, I think being able to take a deeper look and say, ‘here's some evidence of that’, it can help. You know that's not enough. You need a belief that's more than just numbers. But it certainly can help.”
So I guess what I’m getting at is that everyone in the program knew they were on the right track, they knew that they needed to trust. It wasn’t so much a lesson from the season as a test throughout it.
The metrics, the culture, the trust. It was a culmination of a four-year build for Michelle Lenard, but there are still more goals to reach. Loftier targets. Trophies to lift, hopefully. So the next test is replicating the success.
Direction
But how? What steps in what directions are needed to keep this program on an upward trajectory?
Depth, consistency, goal-scoring and physicality. Those were Coach Lenard’s answers to many similar questions about what’s next for Baylor Soccer.
“We have to continue to develop depth in our back line … a lot of times when you would see a poor outcome [last season], or just us not playing well, it's because our defenders were just overloaded.”
This has been a work in progress for the last few years for Michelle, and it has improved each year, though it might not be evident. The bench options this past season were better than in previous years, and coach Lenard mentioned a couple of defenders ready to help this team reload in 2026. Yes, reload, not rebuild.
“It's obvious we're going to be replacing a lot of players in our back line, and what I've told the team is that we should be reloading, not rebuilding. And that's what we've been planning for. We've got some young players who have gotten some quality minutes this year, who are ready to step into more significant roles, like Emerson Garcia and Nyela Calnek. Those kids played this year and can step in right now and be ready to go. We've got some transfers already signed that are going to come in, that are coming from top programs that have a lot of great experience. So we feel like we're ready to make that transition.”
We will get to those transfers in a later section, but Coach Lenard was excited about how they could integrate with the team this spring and produce on the field come the fall. She always wants more production, especially from the attack. You have to score to win. Plus, scoring is fun, and winning is very fun.
“I think we still can be more productive in the final third. We are scoring a lot more goals, obviously, and we’ve got some great players, but we still need to be more dangerous. We get down there a ton. We had a ton of corners this year. We're creating a lot of chances around the 18-yard box. I think we can continue to develop our attacking ideas in the final third, which is the hardest thing to do, right? It's easier to destroy than to create … So I think just continuing to develop our attacking ideas, adding some sophistication in those spaces, and then we really need players who are willing to take players on [one-on -one].”
The last note Lenard made about areas to improve was a key to how the Bears’ 2025 season ended: physicality. Baylor plays more with pace and technique than with brute strength. Neither method is flatly superior, so being able to cope with a brutally physical opponent, or multiple games of that style in a row, is an area for improvement.
“We continue to have to get better and better in that like we did. We took a big step forward this year, but those two games in Indiana [in the NCAA Tournament], we got beat up. Those teams are huge, but we have to be able to play against that. And we did against Wisconsin, despite how the game may have looked from afar. We had the higher xG [expected goals], we won the game fair and square with the better chances. But they were big, strong, physical players, and it took a toll. And part of the reason why we were still not 100% on Sunday against Ohio State was that game. We don't have to turn into that type of team — We're not going to because our style of play doesn't lend itself to that — but we have to have ways to play fast enough where it can't be a factor.”
4) Roster Turnover
Departures (8)
- Forwards (1) - Morgan Greensage
- An important piece of the culture, but the older Greensage did not play a real on-field role for the Bears last season.
- Midfielders (2) - Tyler Isgrig and Kai Hayes
- The two top goal scorers accounted for 15 goals and 10 assists (of 39 total goals), as well as two captains. One was the heart of the attack, while the other typically played a more defensive role. Replacing them will be a tall task.
- Defenders (5)Hallie Augustyn, Hannah Augustyn, Blythe Obar, Angelina Moschetti, Claire Kniss
- Moschetti transferred to New Mexico this offseason after struggling to earn minutes in 2025 at Baylor.
- Kniss did not see game action over the last two years and was honored on Senior Night.
- The Augustyn twins and Obar are all out of eligibility, and their combined 64 out of a possible 69 starts last season will be tough to replace. All three were superb players for Baylor for multiple years.
So that is three back-line defenders plus your most defensive starting midfielder out the door, along with your All-American leading scorer. Oh, and that group also includes all three of your captains from 2025. That is a tall order to reload on.
Arrivals (8)
- Forwards (2)
- Grace White - Elsberry, MO (Elsberry HS)
- Kendall Mason - Helotes, TX (Sandra Day O’Connor HS)
- Midfielders (3)
- Brynnlee Bohannon - Aubrey, TX (Aubrey HS)
- Taylor Evans - R-Jr. (Duke)
- Noelle Sather - So. (South Florida)
- Defenders (2)
- Keira Martin - Fr. (Santa Clara)
- Ava Slay - So. (Vanderbilt)
- Goalkeepers (1)
- Hailey Smith - St. John’s, FL (Creekside HS)
Four transfers and four freshmen to replace the eight departures. On the midfield transfers, Coach Lenard said, “We got two transfers coming in the midfield that can both come in and be impact players for us right away.” She went on to compare Evans from Duke to Kai Hayes in terms of potential impact, character, leadership ability and playing ability. Hopefully, lightning will strike Baylor Soccer twice in that regard.
Key Returners
Natalie Vatter won’t be discussed at length in this section since that was done in a previous section, but know that she is very much one of the key returners.
Perhaps the two most important returning pieces for 2026 Baylor Soccer are goalkeeper Azul Alvarez and midfielder Olivia Hess.
The Bears’ starting goalkeeper played all but 22 minutes of the possible time she could spend on the field for Baylor. The rising redshirt-senior allowed 19 goals with a save percentage of 0.836 (3rd in the Big 12, 31st nationally). She was an obvious difference maker between the posts.
“Azul gives the team tons of confidence. We play out through her … There's a lot of trust there. It makes a difference. It allows us to attack differently because Azul can play pretty high off her line. And just having that confidence in your goalkeeper changes everything. It changes everything about the way that you want to attack … Our back line did a fabulous job. They didn't give up tons of open opportunities, but when the shots came, the dangerous shots, Azul was always there. She made the saves. And that's what a great goalkeeper does.”
But now, returning to Baylor with a Mexican U23 National Team Camp call-up under her belt, Alvarez will have to lead an almost entirely new defense into the new season.
“I don't think Azul has scratched the surface yet of her highest potential. She's really only played two seasons as far as meaningful minutes … She's a very good shot stopper. She's really good in the air. She’s got great presence in the box and is very good with her feet. But she's got some pieces that can continue to develop to take her to the next level. She wants to play pro after she leaves here, and she will. So an opportunity for her to come back and lead a transition in our back line is really important as she grows more as a leader, which is going to be necessary for her as a goalkeeper at the next level.”
Underscoring the importance of Alvarez and the aforementioned Olivia Hess, Michelle Lenard put it simply like this:
“You can have a good team, but you don't win anything without goalkeepers and goal scorers.”
So who will score the goals for Baylor in 2026?
I don’t want to snub veteran attackers Callie Conrad and Theresa McCullough here. I think they were key pieces last year and are prime candidates to step up and take over some of the goal production that is departing from last year’s team. If Baylor is to reach the same heights as last year, those two will likely play key roles.
However, I will be keeping a keen eye on rising sophomore midfielder Olivia Hess.
Hess started all 23 games as a freshman and averaged 80 minutes per appearance. She also scored three goals and dished out a pair of assists.
Again, that was all as a freshman.
With another offseason under her belt in Coach Lenard’s system, I see no reason why the promising freshman can’t deliver more on the offensive end in the fall.
“Liv is the future of our midfield, no doubt, and we can build it around her,” said Michelle when I asked about Hess’ potential and the positives of having players at each level to help the reload. Alvarez in goal, Vatter in defense, Hess in the midfield, and Conrad and McCullough out front is a solid core to build around.
5) Contract Extension
With the on-field success finally manifesting for Michelle Lenard’s build this season, others in the soccer world were sure to notice. In-state programs Texas and Texas A&M both went through coaching searches after their 2025 seasons concluded, with Lenard’s name getting tied to the job in Aggieland, especially.
Despite having no one in the Director of Athletics role at the time, Baylor Athletics locked Coach Lenard down with a contract extension on November 26th. Co-interim Athletics Directors Cody Hall and Jovan Overshown helped Michelle stay in the place that she wanted to be the most.
“This is 100% where I want to be … this is the same thing I tell my recruits, that I tell my players, I tell my family, my kids: when you're making a big decision, you’ve got to know what you want most. And when I thought about it that way, it was really clear to me, I know where I want to be with my family. I know what I believe in, and the type of program that I want to run and where I can do that.”
She went on to say, “It was really a no-brainer for me. It didn't take long. I was like, quickly, staying at Baylor, whatever we need to do to make that happen. And Baylor was super supportive of that. And it was quick and easy. Honestly, it was very fast … I wanted to communicate to my team and to our recruits that I wasn't looking to move on. Like I was afraid that that was the message that was out there, and it wasn't the case at all. I want to be at Baylor, and I wanted the players that have committed to come and play here to know that, because I don't want there to ever be any doubt that this is the right place for me and this is the right place for them.”
6) Final Thoughts
After taking almost 8,000 words to get to here, I don’t want to take too long to wrap this up.
Compared to other sports at the university, Baylor Soccer has serious momentum right now. An up-and-coming coach just signed a contract extension because Waco is where she wants to be and where she believes she can keep building on her previous success.
An All-Big 12 goalkeeper, and “in-house All-American,” and a few other key returning pieces will help to integrate a class of impact transfers and promising freshmen as other returners aim to earn their place on the field on game days. A real chance to follow up a Sweet Sixteen appearance with a season of contending for a conference title and making another run into the NCAA tournament is here.
If the departing class of seniors is any indication, Michelle Lenard’s Baylor soccer is not only playing fun, attractive soccer, but they are doing it with great culture and high character.
In a time when the soul seems to be getting ripped out of the bigger sports like football and men’s basketball, I urge Baylor fans to give this program a try. See if it can scratch that itch for community and competitiveness that so many of us have.
This staff and these players love the game, they love their team, and they love Baylor. They leave it all out on the field simply and solely because of that passion.
Baylor Soccer has momentum, and 2026 could be a fun ride to tag along on.
The Bears' spring slate starts tonight with an exhibition match against Navarro College at Betty Lou Mayes Field in Waco.
Other spring game days include March 21st against UTSA, March 27th against TCU, April 11th against Oklahoma (at DBU), and April 18th against SMU.
