Center Backs, Goals & the Best XI: The 3 Biggest Questions Facing Baylor Soccer in 2026

Baylor Soccer has plenty of talented returning starters and newcomers to answer the bell in 2026, but what makes those alarms ring? There are three questions at the core of the Bears’ story for the upcoming season, and how Michelle Lenard and company answer them will define the season.

Who takes over at center back?

With both Blythe Obar and Hallie Augustyn out of eligibility, the Bears have to replace the pairing at the core of their defense. Defensive midfielder and left outside back are in need of new starters, but a back line is built around its center backs. Figuring out which two players on the roster not only have the best attributes to play the position but also work well in tandem is a tall task. 

The contenders include Emerson Garcia, Nyela Calnek, Bella James, Kiera Martin and Chloe Adams. 

Garcia has earned praise from Coach Lenard for her organizational ability and was one of the first options off the bench last season, spelling Obar and Augustyn. In the spring, I mentioned her as a favorite to take one of the starting spots. She still is, but I admittedly did not focus on how her game pairs with the other options or how two other players could provide a better pairing.

An under-the-radar starting candidate is Calnek, who saw time at outside back last season and is one of the fastest players on the team. If she can match that speed with great physicality, positioning and awareness, she could lock down a starting spot or at least significant playing time. 

“She gives us some safety with her pace on the back line that we really want to have,” said Lenard of the former Vanderbilt Commodore. “She can advance the ball, dribbling it as well whenever teams take away all the immediate passing options… So I think Nyela could have a really good breakout year. But it is a big job, and there's a lot of pressure on that position.”

The pressure of the center back job is not just on the players; it is on the head coach to field the best tandem, and that is why Coach Lenard brought in another solid option in Texas A&M transfer Bella James.

“She's tough, she's a great ball winner, but she can also build out, she can solve pressure,” said Lenard of James. “She's really comfortable doing that, which is one of the reasons we brought her in. She's also a great leader, great culture kid.”

Overall, the Bears have — in my opinion — more playable options here than in years past, but no proven, sure-fire starters as they have had for the last couple of seasons. So who will start? The answer will make or break the Bears’ season.

How do the Bears replace Tyler Isgrig?

There are two main aspects to the answer: how the midfield is organized this season, and who will put the ball in the back of the net.

Let’s start with the goal production since the lineup and tactics bleed into the final question.

Isgrig scored 10 and assisted on a further eight of Baylor’s 37 goals on her way to earning Big 12 Midfielder of the Year. Aryanna Jimison, the most like-for-like replacement available in terms of scoring ability, found the back of the net four times with six assists. Add in Callie Conrad (Sr., Forward) and Theresa McCullough (Sr., Winger), and that returning trio accounted for 11 goals and 14 assists. With less of a gravitational piece in the CAM role this year, each of these players should increase their output. Five more goals and five more assists among them would cover about half of Isgrig’s totals. Frankly, 16 goals and 19 assists almost feel modest for a group where the player with the most “wow” moments (Jimison) is not the Preseason All-Big 12 forward (Conrad) or the player that arguably knows and executes her role on the team the best (McCullough). 

Then there is talented freshman Grace White. After seven goals through five spring scrimmages, there is good reason to believe that the other five goals could all come from the young gun on the left wing. Again, five feels like too safe an estimate.

Isgrig was not the only goal scorer or playmaker to exhaust her eligibility last year, but there are other returning players who look capable of taking a step up in those departments in 2026. Olivia Hess — one of the Bears’ most important players — is a safe bet there. Lauren Omholt, an electric athlete who will see minutes at both outside back and winger, had a great spring, too. 

Altogether, not only do I think Isgrig’s production will be “replaced in the aggregate” à la Moneyball, but I think the 2026 Bears of Betty Lou will score more goals than last year’s Sweet 16 team did. Even if one or two of the players mentioned above don’t meet their scoring potential, Baylor still has the options to meet last year’s goal total.

So on to part two of replacing Isgrig and the overall final question…

What is the Bears’ best lineup?

A large part of answering this question will be finding the right trio in the midfield. Baylor’s roster is built well around a 4-3-3 setup, so I expect a trio.

In 2025, Isgrig was the No. 10 (attacking), Hess was the No. 8 (box-to-box), and Kai Hayes finished the season strong as the No. 6 (defensive). So, for 2026, write 'Hess' in permanent marker on the team sheet, and then … decisions get tougher. There are many great options that don’t fit together in obvious ways.

Jimison was a dynamic substitute for Isgrig in the attacking role with her 1-on-1 ability and audacious ideas. Improved consistency and understanding how to maximize her talents within the Bears’ game model would go a long way to cementing her in the No. 10 role this season. If not Jimison, Coach Lenard is very high on freshman Brynnlee Bohanon. Bohanon did not make it to Waco for the spring, but by conference play, she could become a factor in the midfield competition, especially in this attacking role.

On the defensive side, there are two great options that Lenard brought in through the transfer portal: Taylor Evans and Noelle Sather. Their strengths are distinct, but they can both execute all parts of the role at a high level. They could split time to keep legs fresh or land in a more matchup-based playing-time pattern. They could also play together in a double-six setup if the Bears need to be super defensive. Having multiple good options is a great “problem” to have, but the players on the bench need to stay bought-in and engaged to maximize the team’s potential.

Sather is also at risk of missing almost a month in the middle of the season for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, as she is in the mix for a spot on Canada’s squad. 

Aside from the midfield trio, the left side of the field has questions at winger and outside back. Omholt can play both positions, perhaps starting at outside back and spelling White at left winger. 

White has leading-scorer potential, but the freshman’s ability to cope with a full season of Big 12 play after four tough SEC matchups in the non-conference is untested. The options at outside back in lieu of Omholt have more collegiate defensive experience, like Tennessee transfer Sydney Miller. So again, Lenard has solid options. Just like with the big center back question, the best group needs to emerge early enough for the Bears to build a solid non-conference resume. Otherwise, more pressure will be put on the Big 12 slate.

Now, if all three of these “top questions” appear to be personnel decisions, you’d be right. The squad is built around a tactical vision that proved its effectiveness last year. Otherwise, the biggest question not confronted above is how the Bears can overcome the most talented teams that play more direct and physical styles. They saw two such teams in the second and third rounds of the NCAA Tournament last year and were sent home with one win and room to improve. Despite that, I think the optimal lineup is the primary concern, as the schedule should prepare the Bears to play for most other concerns. How quickly the Bears identify their best center-back pairing, distribute Isgrig’s production across the attack, and settle on a cohesive midfield trio will determine whether the Bears are chasing an NCAA bid late into October or playing for a Big 12 title and NCAA seeding at the end of the regular season.