Baylor Athletics Celebrates a Successful Spring and New School Record

After racking up back-to-back Big 12 football titles, Baylor athletics set a new school record for most conference titles in a season with eight league championships for the year. The Bears’ 65 Big 12 trophies rank fourth in the league’s history, behind only Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Since Ian McCaw was named director of athletics in 2003, only Texas has won more Big 12 titles than Baylor.

Both the Bears and Lady Bears basketball teams ended their seasons competing in the NCAA tournament. For the Bears this was the first back-to-back NCAA tournament selection in program history, and in what was expected to be a rebuilding year, the Bears entered the tournament ranked 16th nationally. The Lady Bears made their fifth straight sweep of the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, entering the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed. The team advanced to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in six years.

In Felecia Mulkey’s first season as head coach of Baylor’s acrobatics and tumbling team, the Bears achieved an undefeated season and the program’s first national championship, defeating Oregon for the title. Sophomore Kiara Nowlin was named NCATA’s national player of the year, and Shayla Moore was named national Freshman of the Year.

The Baylor equestrian team took home its first Big 12 championship since 2010 after defeating Kansas State and entered the NCEA Championship as a No. 2 seed. The team concluded its season in the NCEA Championship semifinals with a 14-5 record.

Baylor baseball ended a tough season with a strong showing in the Big 12 Championship tournament. In the first round, the Bears upset No. 1 seed TCU and later eliminated No. 4 seed Texas Tech before falling to Texas in an elimination game. The Baylor softball team finished second in the Big 12, tied with Texas. The Bears then made their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

On the final day of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Baylor track and field team claimed eight event titles to establish a new program record. The five event title winners for the men’s team were also a program-best and allowed the Bears to finish fourth in the Big 12. The women’s three event champions tied a program-high and helped the Lady Bears place fifth.

After the Baylor men’s and women’s tennis teams clinched the Big 12 regular season titles for the 10th time in 13 years, both teams made a strong showing at the NCAA tournament, which was held at Baylor – the University’s first time hosting an NCAA championship for any sport. The women’s team made it to the Elite Eight in the tournament and the men’s team advanced to the Final Four for the fifth time in 12 years.

After sweeping the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles for the eighth time in 10 years, the Baylor women’s golf team advanced to the finals of the NCAA Championship, finishing as runners-up. The men’s team finished their season in sixth place at the NCAA Bremerton Regional with senior Kyle Jones breaking Baylor’s single-season record with a 70.47 stroke average.