Tag: Baylor Bears

Ohio State cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt finds new home

Sic ’em #GoBucks

Well, that didn’t take long. Ohio State cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt entered the transfer portal shortly after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame for the College Football Playoff National Championship. Just two days later, the Texas native has signed with the Baylor Bears.

Simpson-Hunt was a four-star prospect in the 2023 class. He was the No. 63 overall recruit and No. 8 cornerback in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

He would see action in nine games this season but in a very limited role. With Jermaine Matthews logging more minutes this season and with a wealth of young talent that includes five-stars Aaron Scott Jr. and Devin Sanchez, Simpson-Hunt may have felt his opportunities going forward would be slim.

 

Simpson-Hunt did appear in five games as a true freshman in 2023, but because one of those games was the Cotton Bowl, he was still able to redshirt last year. This leaves the young man with three years of eligibility when he suites up in Waco.

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Cold shooting costs Colorado women’s basketball in loss at Baylor

A poor second half cost the Buffs a win in Waco

The state of Texas hasn’t been friendly to the Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team this week. After losing at TCU on Wednesday, the Buffs dropped their second straight road game on Saturday, falling to the Baylor Bears in Waco, 76-62.

The Buffs were pitted against former CU center Aaronette Vonleh, who transferred to the Bears this past offseason. Vonleh was her usual dominant self in the paint, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The Bears’ starting unit did most of the damage against Colorado as all five starters scored over 10 points, led by guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs’ 16.

The Buffs (10-4, 1-2 Big 12) were more balanced between their starters and bench unit in scoring but couldn’t hit enough shots in the second half. Frida Formann (10) and Jade Masogayo (13) each hit double-figures, but overall, the Buffs only connected on 22 of their 57 (38.6%) shots from the field.

While Colorado’s calling card has been sharing the ball, the Buffs dished out only nine assists against Baylor (12-3, 2-1 Big 12). Formann and Kindyll Wetta each led the Buffs with two assists.

CU will return home to face the UCF Knights (7-6, 0-3 Big 12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).

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Texas A&M volleyball inks Big 12 standout from the transfer portal

Texas A&M volleyball HC Jamie Morrison is getting help from the transfer portal signing Big 12 star Kyndal Stowers

Texas A&M volleyball coach Jamie Morrison lands coveted redshirt sophomore from the transfer portal to his roster for the 2025 season. On Tuesday, outside hitter Kyndal Stowers, out of Denton, TX, announced via social media that she will join the Aggies in Bryan-College Station.

Stowers was a standout player for the Baylor Bears, where she was named the Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week, and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. She is a top-tier on defense and offense, adding some elite talent to be paired with All-Americans Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla.

Having been familiar with Aggieland thanks to her brother’s time on the Texas A&M football team, where he played quarterback before transferring to Vanderbilt and emerging as a standout tight end, we eagerly anticipate her success under Coach Morrison’s guidance as she aids the Aggies in a strong NCAA tournament run.

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What’s at stake in the Texas Bowl between LSU and Baylor?

What’s really at stake in the 2024 Kinder’s Texas Bowl?

The Texas Bowl is on Tuesday, December 31, in Houston, Texas.

The LSU Tigers arrive at Tuesday’s matchup with an 8-4 record after winning their last two games, a welcomed sight after an unfortunate three-game skid knocked the team out of the college football playoffs. The Baylor Bears also arrive in Texas with an 8-4 record, including winning six straight to close out the season.

So, what’s really at stake in Tuesday’s head-to-head?

The Tigers’ program can win a third straight bowl game and reach nine wins.

If LSU walks away with a victory, it’ll be behind a slightly revamped team. While there haven’t been many changes to the defense, the offensive line will be practically new. Several players opted out of playing the bowl game.

For the Bears, head coach Dave Aranda has a chance to get a win over his former team.

Aranda spent the 2016-2019 seasons with the team and was on the staff that won a national championship. The matchup against LSU presents a unique challenge. Unfortunately, Baylor lost seven defensive players to the transfer portal, and that likely won’t help a Bears squad that allowed 34 or more points six times this season.

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Alabama transfer wide receiver commits to Big 12 program

An Alabama transfer wide receiver has announced his 2025 playing destination.

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Kobe Prentice committed to the Baylor Bears on Tuesday afternoon.

Prentice is the first Alabama wide receiver currently in the transfer portal to decide where he will play in 2025. The other three at the moment are undecided.

RELATED: Alabama football 2024-25 offseason transfer portal tracker

The veteran receiver has been a key member of Alabama’s wideout room dating to his freshman season in 2022. Prentice had a combined 60 receptions for 780 yards and five touchdowns across the past three seasons.

This season, Prentice finished with a stat line of 11 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown in 10 games played.

Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, Prentice was a four-star, top-100 prospect in the Crimson Tide’s 2022 recruiting class out of in-state Calera High School.

76ers land V.J. Edgecombe in latest 2025 NBA mock draft from Bleacher Report

This would REALLY help Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia 76ers are struggling more than nearly any other team in the NBA, but that could lead to get them help in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Philadelphia only gets to keep their pick if it lands between No. 1 and No. 6 overall in the lottery. Otherwise, it is owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder on draft night.

However, as of right now if the season ended today, Philadelphia would indeed finish with one of the worst records in the league and would thus likely (81.0 percent chance) keep their pick.

If they earn the No. 4 overall pick, Edgecombe is a strong candidate.

Read more from Jonathan Wasserman on why this could make some sense to pair with 2024 draftee and potential NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Jared McCain (via Bleacher Report):

“Edgecombe may be the most dangerous freshman or draft prospect in space with some outrageous quickness, burst and bounce. That athleticism has also translated to wild defensive playmaking rates: 4.5 steal percentage and 7.5 block percentage.

And that athleticism should buy him time with scouts when it comes to skill development. Even without a pull-up game or advanced creation, he’s averaging 11.0 points and 3.0 assists just by capitalizing in transition, attacking in straight lines, hitting spot-up threes, making the extra passing and finding open shooters.”

Edgecombe is off to a strong start at Baylor, including this highlight dunk against Gonzaga.

He is currently the only high-major freshman with at least 8 dunks as well as 8 field goals made from beyond the arc, per Bart Torvik.

On the other side of the ball, he is the only high-major freshman with a block percentage and steal percentage both above 4.0 percent.

Edgecombe would also join Tari Eason and Matisse Thybulle as one of the only high-major players to reach his impressive block and steal percentage thresholds in over a decade.

Here is our latest NBA mock draft at For The Win, where Edgecombe goes to the Toronto Raptors.

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Mark Few’s son got brutally dunked on by V.J. Edgecombe after his dad put him in Gonzaga’s blowout win

This was NASTY.

Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe tried to put a man through the Earth’s crust on Monday during the Bears’ matchup with Gonzaga.

Let’s explain how we got here. To be clear, the Bulldogs embarrassed the Bears. It was never really any sort of competition. But that doesn’t mean Baylor went down without a fight. They were going to let out some frustration, even in garbage time.

As the second half ticked away, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few put his son, Joe, in to get some minutes. Unfortunately, poor Joe was on the receiving end of a steal and a fast-break transition bucket, and it didn’t end very well. Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe moved up the court and immediately proceeded to dunk all over unsuspecting Joe Few. YIKES.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB-tng0RkxG/?igsh=MTBoamZyNXl2dnBwbg==

(Feature image courtesy of ESPN)

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Are the Oklahoma Sooners bowling in latest Bowl Projections?

Did the Oklahoma Sooners make the cut in USA TODAY Sports latest Bowl Projections after week 10?

The Oklahoma Sooners are a win away from qualifying for a bowl game after their 59-14 win over Maine. Bowl eligibility on the line in November wasn’t what anyone expected but with the way the season has gone, expectations have recalibrated.

Earning a bowl game allows the Sooners to get extra practice in, which would give them a headstart on the 2025 season. In particular, it would give the Sooners young offensive linemen critical snaps to prepare to compete for a starting job next season.

With games against Missouri, Alabama, and LSU remaining, three top 25 teams, the Sooners will have to pull off an upset to earn a postseason bowl berth. But USA TODAY Sports believes the Sooners will get there. College Football writer Erick Smith projects the Sooners to make the Texas Bowl, which takes place on Dec. 31 in Houston at NRG Stadium.

Their opponent would be a red-hot Baylor Bears team that’s won three in a row, beating Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and TCU. In the three wins, they’ve averaged 44 points per game and, in the process, made head coach Dave Aranda’s seat a little cooler.

The last time the two teams met was in 2022, when Baylor beat the Sooners 38-35. The Bears have won the last two matchups. The Sooners’ last win came with Caleb Williams under center towards the end of the 2021 season.

Oklahoma’s search for that elusive sixth win begins when they take on the [autotag]Missouri Tigers[/autotag] this Saturday evening in Columbia.

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Watch: BYU QB Jake Retzlaff continues dominant start against Baylor

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is off to a scorching hot start against Baylor in Waco.

The BYU Cougars started the college football season 3-0 with road wins over SMU and Wyoming, but didn’t really start to get attention until blasting Kansas State in the Big 12 opener, 38-9, in Week 4.

Now the nationally ranked Cougars are putting on a clinic in Waco, TX, going up 21-7 in the first quarter against the Baylor Bears behind a dominant start from quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

Retzlaff completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, but it was a 17-yard touchdown run with 3:39 left in the quarter that gave BYU a 21-0 lead and quieted the surprising number of doubters still unsure if Retzlaff is the right man to lead the Cougars under center this season.

Retzlaff appeared in four games for BYU in 2023, completing just over 50% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. This season he looked outstanding in Week 1 over Southern Illinois, but threw a pair of picks against SMU and another against Wyoming, which had some folks worried he was too turnover prone for Kalani Sitake’s offense.

Retzlaff worked hard to put that narrative to rest with a pair of touchdown passes and a 71.4% completion rate against Kansas State, and now with a touchdown in the air and his first rushing score of the season already in the books against Baylor, it’s clear Retzlaff is not only good enough to start for BYU, he could lead them to a top three finish in the Big 12 and – perhaps – a shocking run to the College Football Playoff.

Growing unrest for pair of Big 12 coaches as hot seat warms

It was a tough weekend for two Big 12 head coaches on the hot seat coming into the season.

2024 represents a make-or-break season for both Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears and Scott Satterfield of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Week 2 did not go well for either head coach, as the hot seat got even warmer after the performances of their teams on Saturday.

Things Are Not Well in Waco

Aranda and his Bears were not prepared for their Big 12 opener. They trailed the Utah Utes 23-0 before getting a field goal just before halftime. The Bears then scored nine points in the third quarter to make it somewhat respectable, but that was largely in part due to the injury to Utah’s Cam Rising.

The Bears quarterback play was miserable, with Dequan Finn completing just 9 of 21 passes for 115 yards in the game. On the defensive side, the Bears looked lost. Rising was torching them all over the field before the injury.

The 47-year-old Aranda has been with the Bears since 2020 and is under .500 in his career. He did have a monster 2021 season with the Bears, including a Sugar Bowl win. But, after back-to-back losing seasons, the folks in Waco are growing tired, and patience is running thin.

The heat will remain on as they host Air Force on Saturday, and then go to Boulder to take on Coach Prime and the Buffaloes on September 21st.

Epic Collapse to Rival not a Recipe for Success

Scott Satterfield was awfully good at Appalachian State and Louisville, but the 51-year-old has really struggled at Cincinnati so far. It may be too early, but a loss to a big rival such as Pittsburgh is many times a death sentence for a head coach. The loss dropped him to 4-10 as the leader of the Bearcats.

Cincinnati scored 27 of the first 40 points in the game. They led 27-6 late in the third. Then, disaster happened. Cincinnati saw Pittsburgh score three straight touchdowns and added a field goal to win the game on Saturday.

Running back Corey Kiner finished with nearly 150 yards but had a massive fumble in the game. The defense was good early, but could not get off the field when they needed to the most. Play calling, and lack of ability to put a game away, almost always falls on the head coach.

The Bearcats are at Miami OH on Saturday. A game they better be ready for, because the MAC has already shown up with big massive wins this early part of the season.

Both Aranda and Satterfield are going to be watched every game the rest of the way. If they can make it through this season, it probably is a miracle with the patience these athletic departments have when a coach is not winning.