The Baylor Bears are preseason ranked 18th in the ESPN poll and 22nd in the coaches poll and have recently released their action packed 2021 schedule. The Bears will open their season the second weekend in February at Lamson Park facing Missouri State and then facing preseason #9 ULL Ragin Cajuns. Head Coach Glenn Moore is in his 21st season leading the Bears and is “More appreciative than ever for the game of softball and Baylor University.“
The shortened 2020 season was a good one for the Bears as they were 19-5, surpassing the wins total from the prior year, defeating ranked opponents: Auburn, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Florida State. As fans look to this 2021 team they should expect a talented squad with lots of depth. Two freshmen have stuck out to Coach Moore, Sydney Collazos and Zadie Lavalley, “these are two of the best catchers we have had in our program, Sydney will get the nod early on and Zadie has a great arm, these two will turn some heads.” Maren Judisch, a freshmen pitcher from Iowa, has been training under Rich Thomas, the father of three-time All-American and Missouri Softball record holder in wins, Chelsea Thomas. “He has molded her into a pitcher and she has a lot of the same great qualities Chelsea had, we expect that she will move into a role of a very effective pitcher for us,” Moore said.
Just as the fall was different for every NCAA team this year, Baylor Softball had to tailor their routine and schedule as well. “We made it clear we were not trying to become a team per say in the fall, our goal was to let our players know they were competing for playing time and make it as competitive as possible,” Moore said. In the years past Baylor has played LSU in the fall and used this as a gauge to how they are prepared for the year, having not been able to play them Moore and his staff had to place an emphasis on pitching and challenging his hitters. Along with the effects of Covid 19 Baylor Softball lost one of its family members and coaches, Mark Lumley on December 27, 2020.