2021 Baylor Bears baseball team

2021 Baylor Bears baseball
2021 Baylor Bears baseball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	13–7 (1–2 Big 12)
Head coach	Steve Rodriguez (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Jon Strauss (6th season); Mike Taylor (6th season); Mitch Karraker (2nd season);
Home stadium	Baylor Ballpark
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Baylor Bears baseball team represented Baylor University during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bears played their home games at Baylor Ballpark as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by head coach Steve Rodriguez, in his 6th season at Baylor.

2021 Big 12 Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
No. 3 Texas ‍†‍‍^y	17	–	7	–	0	.708	50	–	17	–	0	.746
No. 8 TCU ‍†‍‡‍^y	17	–	7	–	0	.708	41	–	19	–	0	.683
No. 9 Texas Tech ‍‍‍^y	14	–	10	–	0	.583	39	–	17	–	0	.696
No. 23 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍^y	12	–	12	–	0	.500	36	–	19	–	1	.652
Oklahoma ‍‍‍	11	–	13	–	0	.458	27	–	28	–	0	.491
Baylor ‍‍‍	11	–	13	–	0	.458	31	–	20	–	0	.608
Kansas State ‍‍‍	10	–	14	–	0	.417	34	–	23	–	0	.596
West Virginia ‍‍‍	8	–	16	–	0	.333	25	–	27	–	0	.481
Kansas ‍‍‍	8	–	16	–	0	.333	30	–	27	–	0	.526

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 26, 2021^[1] Rankings from D1baseball

Previous season

The 2020 Baylor Bears baseball team notched a 10–6 record in February and early March; however, the remainder of the season was abruptly halted on March 13, 2020, when the Big 12 Conference canceled the remainder of the athletics season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.^[2]

Personnel

Coaching Staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Baylor	Alma Mater
Steve Rodriguez	Head Coach	6	Pepperdine (2001)
Jon Strauss	Pitching Coach	6	Long Beach State (1996)
Mike Taylor	Hitting Coach	6	Prairie View A&M (1997)
Mitch Karaker	Volunteer Assistant Coach	2	Oregon (2012)

Roster

2021 Baylor Bears Roster^[3]

Pitchers

10 - Ryan Leckich - Senior
15 - Will Rigney - Freshman
16 - Tyler Thomas - Junior
22 - Blake Helton - Sophomore
24 - Jimmy Winston - RS Senior
26 - Hambleton Oliver - Freshman
27 - Evan Godwin - Freshman
28 - Hayden Kettler - Senior
30 - Jacob Ashkinos - RS Junior
31 - Luke Thompson - Freshman
34 - Anderson Needham - Sophomore
35 - Brooks Helmer - Sophomore
39 - Adam Muirhead - Freshman
40 - Zac Childers - Freshman
41 - Luke Boyd - Senior
43 - Andy Owen - Freshman
44 - Logan Freeman - Senior
45 - Travis Hester - RS Sophomore
46 - Ty Fontenot - Freshman
49 - Grant Golomb - Freshman
51 - Cole Stasio - Freshman
52 - Joey Schott - Freshman
53 - Drew Leach - Freshman

Catchers

8 - Kyle Harper - RS Sophomore
19 - Cade Currington - Freshman
21 - Nicolas Balsano - Freshman
25 - Andy Thomas - Senior
29 - JD Gregson - Freshman

Infielders

2 - Blake Shapen - Freshman
3 - Antonio Valdez - Sophomore
11 - Ricky Martinez - Sophomore
12 - Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo - Junior
13 - Alex Gonzales - Freshman
23 - Kyle Nevin - Freshman
32 - Tre Richardson - Freshman
33 - Jack Pineda - Junior
37 - Chase Wehsener - RS Sophomore
38 - Chandler Freeman - Freshman
47 - Beau Wimpee - Freshman

Outfielders

1 - Nolan Rodriguez - Freshman
9 - Davion Downey - Junior
18 - Jared McKenzie - Freshman
20 - Cam Caley - Freshman
36 - Ryan Patterson - Freshman
42 - Jacob Schoenvogel - Freshman
50 - Ben Kesler - Freshman

Schedule and results

2021 Baylor Bears Baseball Game Log^[4]

Regular Season (13–7)

February (2–4)

Date	Time (CT)	TV	Opponent	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	Big 12
February 21	11:00 am		at UTRGV*	UTRGV Baseball Stadium Edinburg, TX	W 12–7	Oliver (1–0)	Stevens (0–1)	Ashkinos (1)	119	1–0	—	Stats Story
February 21	2:00 pm		at UTRGV*	UTRGV Baseball Stadium Edinburg, TX	L 8–9	Serbantez (1–0)	Freeman (0–1)	—	119	1–1	—	Stats Story
February 22	1:00 pm		at UTRGV*	UTRGV Baseball Stadium Edinburg, TX	L 4–7	Davis (1–0)	Winston (0–1)	Bridges (1)		1–2	—	Stats Story
February 26	6:00 pm	FloSports	vs. Texas A&M*	Dell Diamond Round Rock, TX	L 4–12	Saenz (1–1)	Helton (0–1)	—		1–3	—	Stats Story
February 27	12:00 pm	FloSports	vs. #21 Auburn*	Dell Diamond Round Rock, TX	W 12–6	Thomas (1–0)	Fitts (0–1)	—		2–3	—	Stats Story
February 28	5:00 pm	FloSports	vs. Oklahoma*	Dell Diamond Round Rock, TX	L 3–9	Bennett (1–0)	Caley (0–1)	—		2–4	—	Stats Story

March (11–3)

Date	Time (CT)	TV	Opponent	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	Big 12
March 2	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Sam Houston State*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 4–0	Oliver (2–0)	Rudis (0–1)	—	1,036	3–4	—	Stats Story
March 5	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Memphis*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 5–4	Helton (1–0)	Wimberley (0–1)	Boyd (1)	1,250	4–4	—	Stats Story
March 6	2:00 pm	ESPN+	Memphis*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 9–0⁽⁷⁾	Thomas (2–0)	Durham (0–1)	—	1,250	5–4	—	Stats Story
March 6	5:00 pm	ESPN+	Memphis*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 20–4	Winston (1–1)	Cothren (0–1)	—	1,250	6–4	—	Stats Story
March 7	1:00 pm	ESPN+	Memphis*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 8–7	Ashkinos (1–0)	Kelly (1–1)	Boyd (2)	1,179	7–4	—	Stats Story
March 12	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Xavier*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 7–3	Freeman (1–1)	Chatham (0–1)	—	1,051	8–4	—	Stats Story
March 13	3:00 pm	ESPN+	Xavier*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 11–4	Winston (2–1)	Kelly (0–1)	—	1,240	9–4	—	Stats Story
March 14	1:00 pm	ESPN+	Xavier*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 10–0	Kettler (1–0)	Bosacker (1–1)	—	1,073	10–4	—	Stats Story
March 16	6:30 pm	ESPN+	UTSA*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 10–8	Ashkinos (2–0)	Miller (0–1)	Boyd (3)	1,193	11–4	—	Stats Story
March 17	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Prairie View A&M*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 12–2⁽⁷⁾	Childers (1–0)	Maldonado (0–2)	—	1,167	12–4	—	Stats Story
March 19	6:30 pm	ESPN+	#10 Texas	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	L 3–5	Madden (3–1)	Thomas (2–1)	Nixon (1)	2,168	12–5	0–1	Stats Story
March 20	3:00 pm	ESPN+	#10 Texas	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	L 3–4	Stevens (2–1)	Winston (2–2)	Nixon (2)	2,336	12–6	0–2	Stats Story
March 21	1:00 pm	ESPN+	#10 Texas	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	W 11–2	Kettler (2–0)	Kubichek (2–2)	—	1,753	13–6	1–2	Stats Story
March 23	6:30 pm		at UT Arlington*	Clay Gould Ballpark Arlington, TX	L 3–4⁽¹¹⁾	Austin (1–0)	Boyd (0–1)	—	314	13–7	—	Stats Story
March 26	6:30 pm	ESPN+	at #13 TCU	Lupton Stadium Fort Worth, TX
March 27	2:00 pm	ESPN+	at #13 TCU	Lupton Stadium Fort Worth, TX
March 28	1:00 pm	ESPN+	at #13 TCU	Lupton Stadium Fort Worth, TX
March 30	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Texas State*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX							—

April (0–0)

Date	Time (CT)	TV	Opponent	Stadium	Big 12
April 1	6:30 pm	ESPN+	North Carolina A&T*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
April 2	2:00 pm	ESPN+	North Carolina A&T*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
April 2	6:00 pm	ESPN+	North Carolina A&T*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
April 3	1:00 pm	ESPN+	North Carolina A&T*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
April 6	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Texas State*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
April 9	7:30 pm	ESPNU	West Virginia	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
April 10	3:00 pm	ESPN+	West Virginia	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
April 11	12:00 pm	ESPN+	West Virginia	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
April 16	6:00 pm		at Kansas	Hoglund Ballpark Lawrence, KS
April 17	2:00 pm		at Kansas	Hoglund Ballpark Lawrence, KS
April 18	1:00 pm		at Kansas	Hoglund Ballpark Lawrence, KS
April 23	6:30 pm	ESPN+	at Texas Tech	Dan Law Field Lubbock, TX
April 24	2:00 pm	ESPN+	at Texas Tech	Dan Law Field Lubbock, TX
April 25	2:00 pm	ESPN+	at Texas Tech	Dan Law Field Lubbock, TX
April 27	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Prairie View A&M*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—

May (0–0)

Date	Time (CT)	TV	Opponent	Stadium	Big 12
May 7	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Kansas State	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
May 8	3:00 pm	ESPN+	Kansas State	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
May 9	1:00 pm	ESPN+	Kansas State	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
May 11	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Incarnate Word*	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX	—
May 14	6:00 pm	ESPN+	at Oklahoma State	O'Brate Stadium Stillwater, OK
May 15	1:00 pm	ESPN+	at Oklahoma State	O'Brate Stadium Stillwater, OK
May 16	1:00 pm	ESPN+	at Oklahoma State	O'Brate Stadium Stillwater, OK
May 20	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Oklahoma	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
May 21	6:30 pm	ESPN+	Oklahoma	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX
May 22	3:00 pm	ESPN+	Oklahoma	Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX

Legend: = Win = Loss = Canceled Bold = Baylor team member

"*" indicates a non-conference game.
"#" represents ranking. All rankings from D1Baseball on the date of the contest.
"()" represents postseason seeding in the Big 12 Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'^[5]	RV	RV*	—	—	RV	—
Baseball America^[6]	—	—	—	—	—	—
Collegiate Baseball^^[7]	RV	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†^[8]	RV	—	—	RV	RV	RV
D1Baseball^[9]	—	—	—	—	—	—

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

2021 MLB Draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Andy Thomas	C	5	144	Seattle Mariners
Luke Boyd	RHP	17	520	San Diego Padres

References

^ "2020–21 Baseball Standings". big12sports.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
^ "2020 Season Cancellation". Big 12 Conference. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
^ "2021 Baseball Roster". Baylor Bears. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
^ "2021 Baseball Schedule". Baylor Bears. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
^ "NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023.
^ Baseball America College: Top 25
^ NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
^ NCBWA Division I poll
^ D1Baseball poll

[1] "2020–21 Baseball Standings". big12sports.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.

[2] "2020 Season Cancellation". Big 12 Conference. Retrieved February 19, 2021.

[factbook-3] "2021 Baseball Roster". Baylor Bears. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

[schedule-4] "2021 Baseball Schedule". Baylor Bears. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

[5] "NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023.

[6] Baseball America College: Top 25

[CBNPoll-7] NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper

[8] NCBWA Division I poll

[9] D1Baseball poll

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