By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The Topper
>Obviously, we’ll keep you posted on any reports on Baylor’s women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey and her potential of taking the LSU job or remaining at Baylor. The Louisiana native is known to have had discussions with LSU. There were reports that she was headed there and an announcement could come as early as Friday. Those reports have not been confirmed by any major media outlets.
>The 2021 Green & Gold Spring Football Game will be simulcast by the Baylor Sports Network presented by Learfield IMG College on ESPN Central Texas (92.3 FM/1660 AM) and Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the Voice of the Bears John Morris and former Baylor greats JJ Joe and Ricky Thompson on the call. Radio coverage begins at noon.
Baylor in Simpson’s Top 2
Cy Ranch 2022 offensive tackle Bryce Simpson has the size that Baylor’s coaching staff is exactly looking for.
And to this point, the message seems to have been received well.
“I really like how consistent they are talking to me,’’ Simpson said. “Really, it’s the same way they are talking to me now as it was the day they offered me. That means a lot.’’
Baylor appears to have made the move to the point where Simpson said he is considering the Bears along with Ole Miss (Simpson is talking with former Baylor OL coach Randy Clements) as his top two schools.
Simpson has set up his official visit to Baylor June 25-27. He does not have one set for Ole Miss yet.
Naturally, Simpson has been talking with new Baylor offensive line coach Eric Mateos. A bond is forming between the two. That goes back to what he said about the relationship.
“Coach Mateos likes how violent I am off the ball,’’ Simpson said. “He also likes the way I move my feet. I’ve been working a lot this offseason building my upper body strength and my footwork.’’
Cy Ranch has the chance to become a pipeline for Baylor. The program added defensive back Romario Noel to its 2021 class.
For his part, Simpson has been a stalwart for the Mustangs. He delivered about 60 pancake blocks for the team as it finished 2020 at 7-3 and qualified for the Class 6A playoffs. Simpson has been on varsity since his sophomore year.
“Everything with Baylor has been strong,’’ he said. “When I go on my visit I just want to take in the atmosphere, the fields and the weight program and how they treat their players.’’
Simpson maxes 235 in the bench, 215 in the power clean and 405 in the squat. Rated at three stars by Rivals, he has a 5.5 rating.
Hall still talking with Baylor
It’s true that Baylor has some offensive line choices for its 2022 class between high school, JUCO and the transfer portal.
The Bears and Austin Akin offensive tackle Nikolas Hall continue to talk. Hall has scheduled his official visit to Baylor June 25-27.
Baylor was one of the first to offer Hall. The Bears offer came in shortly after Akron. Now, there’s some company between Kentucky, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
“All these schools just told me that I’m a player they need to get where they want to go so they can grow,’’ Hall said. “It’s pretty much the same thing from every team. But I’m excited about it.’’
Maybe the message matters. While he’s heard the same talking points from those schools, Baylor’s approach appears to differ for the right reasons. It’s about making a connection.
“They really are the first team that’s been interested in me,’’ he said. “They’ve been consistent with me. Baylor is a really important offer for me. What I like is what they told me in how they run their program. I really like that. They choose person over player. I can tell that the coaches are really interested in me.”
That goes back to his daily talks with offensive line coach Eric Mateos. It’s pretty much a daily text or discussion. “He acts like he’s already my coach,’’ Hall said.
This official visit to Baylor – he has a second scheduled for Oklahoma State June 16-18 – could be a tipping point on where his recruitment is headed.
“The value of the visit for me is going to be how the players are with each other, if there is any beefs between teammates, how they live, how the coaches treat them and how the coaches treat each other,’’ he said. “I just like the overall family aspect of how they run their program.”
As for now, Hall said he plans on making his commitment decision somewhere between the beginning toward the middle of his senior season. He and his family are discussing whether he will pursue trying to become an early enrollee for January of 2022.
Rated at three stars by Rivals, Hall has a 5.5 rating.
Notable
>Just hearing a lot of work being put in on 2022 wide receiver targets Jordan Nabors of Rockwall-Heath and Gladewater and Rivals No. 168 and 4 star prospect DJ Allen. Both are scheduled to take their OVs to Baylor June 18-20 and June 25-27 respectively.
You’ll recall in our interview with Nabors last week that he was close to naming a Top 5 soon. Baylor should be on that list.
>MBB: Rivals No. 32 Ty Ty Washington said he hoped to make his commitment decision sometime in early May. That’s the thinking for now. Earlier in the week, the 6-4 point guard from Phoenix Compass Prep named Baylor among his six finalists. The others were Kentucky, Kansas, Oregon, Arizona and LSU.
Baseball: At No. 5 Texas Tech
The Bears (24-12, 5-7) are in Lubbock at Rip Griffin Park for a very important 3-game series against the fifth-ranked Red Raiders (26-8, 7-5).
After starting Big 12 play at 1-5 with a series loss to Texas and being swept by TCU, Baylor has won its last two conference series against West Virginia (2-1) and at Kansas (2-1) to help it reach the middle of the standings. BU was in Lubbock in 2019 and lost the series, 2-1. Of course, a series win would help build Baylor’s NCAA tournament resume. The Bears still have some work to do there.
The Bears lead the Big 12 in batting average (.298) and are second in team ERA (3.53). Tech leads the all-time series, 89-83.
Here’s a look at the pitching matchups:
Friday – 6:30 pm – LHP Tyler Thomas (4-2, 1.95 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Monteverde (6-1, 2.24 ERA)
Saturday – 2:00 pm – RHP Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Micah Dallas (1-2, 3.66 ERA)
Sunday – 2:00 pm – TBA vs. LHP Mason Montgomery (2-1, 3.66 ERA)
Publisher
The Topper
>Obviously, we’ll keep you posted on any reports on Baylor’s women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey and her potential of taking the LSU job or remaining at Baylor. The Louisiana native is known to have had discussions with LSU. There were reports that she was headed there and an announcement could come as early as Friday. Those reports have not been confirmed by any major media outlets.
>The 2021 Green & Gold Spring Football Game will be simulcast by the Baylor Sports Network presented by Learfield IMG College on ESPN Central Texas (92.3 FM/1660 AM) and Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with the Voice of the Bears John Morris and former Baylor greats JJ Joe and Ricky Thompson on the call. Radio coverage begins at noon.
Baylor in Simpson’s Top 2
Cy Ranch 2022 offensive tackle Bryce Simpson has the size that Baylor’s coaching staff is exactly looking for.
And to this point, the message seems to have been received well.
“I really like how consistent they are talking to me,’’ Simpson said. “Really, it’s the same way they are talking to me now as it was the day they offered me. That means a lot.’’
Baylor appears to have made the move to the point where Simpson said he is considering the Bears along with Ole Miss (Simpson is talking with former Baylor OL coach Randy Clements) as his top two schools.
Simpson has set up his official visit to Baylor June 25-27. He does not have one set for Ole Miss yet.
Naturally, Simpson has been talking with new Baylor offensive line coach Eric Mateos. A bond is forming between the two. That goes back to what he said about the relationship.
“Coach Mateos likes how violent I am off the ball,’’ Simpson said. “He also likes the way I move my feet. I’ve been working a lot this offseason building my upper body strength and my footwork.’’
Cy Ranch has the chance to become a pipeline for Baylor. The program added defensive back Romario Noel to its 2021 class.
For his part, Simpson has been a stalwart for the Mustangs. He delivered about 60 pancake blocks for the team as it finished 2020 at 7-3 and qualified for the Class 6A playoffs. Simpson has been on varsity since his sophomore year.
“Everything with Baylor has been strong,’’ he said. “When I go on my visit I just want to take in the atmosphere, the fields and the weight program and how they treat their players.’’
Simpson maxes 235 in the bench, 215 in the power clean and 405 in the squat. Rated at three stars by Rivals, he has a 5.5 rating.
Hall still talking with Baylor
It’s true that Baylor has some offensive line choices for its 2022 class between high school, JUCO and the transfer portal.
The Bears and Austin Akin offensive tackle Nikolas Hall continue to talk. Hall has scheduled his official visit to Baylor June 25-27.
Baylor was one of the first to offer Hall. The Bears offer came in shortly after Akron. Now, there’s some company between Kentucky, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
“All these schools just told me that I’m a player they need to get where they want to go so they can grow,’’ Hall said. “It’s pretty much the same thing from every team. But I’m excited about it.’’
Maybe the message matters. While he’s heard the same talking points from those schools, Baylor’s approach appears to differ for the right reasons. It’s about making a connection.
“They really are the first team that’s been interested in me,’’ he said. “They’ve been consistent with me. Baylor is a really important offer for me. What I like is what they told me in how they run their program. I really like that. They choose person over player. I can tell that the coaches are really interested in me.”
That goes back to his daily talks with offensive line coach Eric Mateos. It’s pretty much a daily text or discussion. “He acts like he’s already my coach,’’ Hall said.
This official visit to Baylor – he has a second scheduled for Oklahoma State June 16-18 – could be a tipping point on where his recruitment is headed.
“The value of the visit for me is going to be how the players are with each other, if there is any beefs between teammates, how they live, how the coaches treat them and how the coaches treat each other,’’ he said. “I just like the overall family aspect of how they run their program.”
As for now, Hall said he plans on making his commitment decision somewhere between the beginning toward the middle of his senior season. He and his family are discussing whether he will pursue trying to become an early enrollee for January of 2022.
Rated at three stars by Rivals, Hall has a 5.5 rating.
Notable
>Just hearing a lot of work being put in on 2022 wide receiver targets Jordan Nabors of Rockwall-Heath and Gladewater and Rivals No. 168 and 4 star prospect DJ Allen. Both are scheduled to take their OVs to Baylor June 18-20 and June 25-27 respectively.
You’ll recall in our interview with Nabors last week that he was close to naming a Top 5 soon. Baylor should be on that list.
>MBB: Rivals No. 32 Ty Ty Washington said he hoped to make his commitment decision sometime in early May. That’s the thinking for now. Earlier in the week, the 6-4 point guard from Phoenix Compass Prep named Baylor among his six finalists. The others were Kentucky, Kansas, Oregon, Arizona and LSU.
Baseball: At No. 5 Texas Tech
The Bears (24-12, 5-7) are in Lubbock at Rip Griffin Park for a very important 3-game series against the fifth-ranked Red Raiders (26-8, 7-5).
After starting Big 12 play at 1-5 with a series loss to Texas and being swept by TCU, Baylor has won its last two conference series against West Virginia (2-1) and at Kansas (2-1) to help it reach the middle of the standings. BU was in Lubbock in 2019 and lost the series, 2-1. Of course, a series win would help build Baylor’s NCAA tournament resume. The Bears still have some work to do there.
The Bears lead the Big 12 in batting average (.298) and are second in team ERA (3.53). Tech leads the all-time series, 89-83.
Here’s a look at the pitching matchups:
Friday – 6:30 pm – LHP Tyler Thomas (4-2, 1.95 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Monteverde (6-1, 2.24 ERA)
Saturday – 2:00 pm – RHP Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Micah Dallas (1-2, 3.66 ERA)
Sunday – 2:00 pm – TBA vs. LHP Mason Montgomery (2-1, 3.66 ERA)
