Baylor Retains Mitch Thompson, Plans Increased Investment in Baseball Program

Baylor will officially retain head baseball coach Mitch Thompson for the 2027 season, SicEm365 has confirmed. The news was first reported earlier Thursday morning by the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Throughout his four-year tenure, Thompson has compiled a 104-116 record and failed to guide the Bears to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Baylor reached the Big 12 Tournament only twice during that span and hasn’t finished higher than eighth in the conference standings.

Baylor’s baseball program has been toward the bottom of the Big 12 in revenue share and NIL in recent years, and is expected to receive a funding boost this offseason, as first-year athletic director Doug McNamee wants to give the program the right tools to succeed moving forward.

The Bears finished the 2026 season with a 29-27 record and went 14-16 in conference play. Baylor lost in extra innings in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament to the No. 1 overall seed, Kansas Jayhawks.

This season, the Bears were 10th in the Big 12 in earned run average (6.11) and were 12th in batting average (.269). Baylor boasted three all-conference performers, however, in Travis Sanders (.369 AVG, 1.044 OPS), Brady Janusek (.297 AVG, .938 OPS) and Tyce Armstrong (.338 AVG, 1.210 OPS), who broke the single-season program record for home runs (24).

Thompson was a popular pick when he was hired to replace former head coach Steve Rodriguez in 2022, due to his history at Baylor and his long-standing ties in Central Texas. Thompson was the lead assistant under Steve Smith from 1995-2012 and oversaw the Bears’ three Big 12 Conference titles, 12 NCAA Regional appearances, three Super Regional appearances and a trip to the College World Series in 2005.