Attractive Soccer, Classic Rivals & Love for Baylor: Why You Need to Watch Baylor Soccer

Baylor Soccer kicks off the 2026 season on Wednesday with a trip to No. 10 Arkansas. If that matchup, last season’s Sweet 16 appearance, or the fact that they wear the green and gold are not quite enough to get you to tune in or show up to Betty Lou Mayes Field at some point this year, here are three reasons to watch more Baylor Soccer this year.

Baylor Plays Attractive, Attacking Soccer with a lot of Goals

Last year, the Bears scored 1.7 goals per game, including 12 multi-goal games on their way to a 14-5-4 finish. Speaking with head coach Michelle Lenard before the season, the number 2.5 goals per game came up as a target for consistently winning. 

“I think we can create that, and we also have not just the ability to score goals but multiple different people who can score goals. That's why we'll be able to do that — because you can't zero in on one player and double team them and take them out of the game … We've got the highest number of quality attacking players we've had on the roster at any given time now, and not just playing in our front line but coming out of our midfield coming out of our back line.”

The Bears did lose four key defensive starters so both Baylor and their opponents might score more than last year, but that should make for a very entertaining product all things considered.

Aside from the numbers and the talented roster, what makes a sport fun to watch is winning. And Lenard has ambitions for the Bears to play and win like new World Cup Champions Spain.

“We want to be a team that plays, that keeps it, that controls the game. We're not necessarily looking to be that typical — stereotypical — really direct, really physical, really reliant-on-athleticism program that still exists pretty heavily in the NCAA.

“I think we play an attractive style of soccer. It's fun. These girls are competitive. They're athletic [but] it doesn't look like a track meet. We work really hard to have a game model and a style of play that's modern and that [is in the vein of] a lot of what you're seeing right now, especially going into the World Cup final. You've got Argentina and Spain, two of the best soccer-playing countries in the world … And so at the NCAA level, we want to be that. We want to be the Spain of NCAA.”

But if you didn’t get into the World Cup this summer, or maybe you just aren’t a soccer person in general, there are still some very good reasons to watch.

Baylor Soccer Plays All of the Bears’ Classic Rivals

The Bears play six teams from the state of Texas this season: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Houston and Texas State. If you’re tired of the bigger sports losing regional rivalries through realignment or simple cowardice, you won’t find that in college soccer. The Bears have recent wins against Texas (2025) and Texas A&M (2024) and are happy to play high-level non-conference matchups against those programs every year. In Big 12 play, TCU and Texas Tech are direct roadblocks in the way of Coach Lenard winning her first Big 12 title, and that is felt and seen in the way those games are played; absolute grudge matches. Texas Tech is a physical battle every year, and TCU has been at or near the top of the Big 12 conference every year since 2020. In fact, Coach Lenard has not beaten the Horned Frogs in the regular season yet. This could be the year, though, with the Bears winning a hotly contested spring exhibition 4-3 over the Frogs. Imagine if the Bears do that after beating the Horns and the Aggies? I’d want to be watching every minute.

So, even if this is a bit of an “old man yells at clouds” angle to take, having a schedule that plays into history and regionality is a reminder that not every college sport has moved so far from what many fans love about this level of athletics. It’s not what means more to fans across the nation or to casuals; it’s what means more to us in our communities and our families, with houses divided between Baylor and UT or wherever else. That’s why it’s fun to watch, plus this angle plays into my third reason…

These Bears Play for the Love of the Game and Leave It All on the Field Representing Baylor

There is no avoiding the reality of the transfer portal or the fact that NIL money is a legal part of all college athletics now, but they are not core to college soccer like they have quickly become for football or basketball. 

“We are doing what we need to do to be competitive in today's changing landscape,” said Coach Lenard about NIL. “But ultimately, I would not say it has a big part in our program at this point. We still are recruiting the same type of kids, like high-character kids that love Baylor and that want to be at Baylor for all the right reasons. And we're not going to be trying to win a bidding war to get here, right? We want kids that want to be here, that believe in what we're doing, that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

And while a good chunk of the Bears’ roster did not start their collegiate careers in Waco, a quarter of the roster is starting their fourth year at Baylor. Continuity is still a massive factor in development and success for Baylor Soccer. 

“We want people to come and stay. Ideally we'd bring in freshmen and they'd stay now for the five years and have a tremendous career and graduate with a Baylor degree and love their experience here and be ready to take that next step in whatever they want to do, professional soccer or whatever professional career they decide to pursue.”

When you have less roster turnover, the identity and cohesiveness of the program grow stronger. Teammates feed off of each other, push each other and sacrifice more for the good of the team. It’s more of a family than a group of free agents. This is not unique to Baylor Soccer, but Lenard’s program does a good job in this respect, making Baylor Soccer a great option for Bear fans disaffected by the rise of NIL and transfers in other sports. The love of the game and the love of the university are clearer to see, making it at least a little easier to cheer on the Bears of Betty Lou.

So whether you are a fan that is tired of the growing dominance of money in football and basketball, or someone who wants to see in-state rivals clash so you have more trash-talking ammunition, or just someone who appreciates Soccer better after a fun World Cup summer, Baylor Soccer is a great place to find those things. So tune in to the season opener against No. 10 Arkansas on Wednesday (SECN+), come catch a game in Waco at Betty Lou Mayes Field (entry is free), or just keep reading up on the team’s latest exploits here on SicEm365! This team should be fun to watch and make Bear fans proud with how they represent the university.