WACO, Texas - The start of Steve Rodriguez's debut season at Baylor is still more than a month away, but you can get an early preview of the Bears at Baylor Sports Network luncheons next week in the Dallas and Houston areas.

Rodriguez will be in Dallas next Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Maggiano's North Park (205 NorthPark Center) and in Houston the following day at McCormick & Schmicks Seafood & Steaks (1151 Uptown Park Blvd.). Both lunches are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with registration available online or through the Baylor Sports Network office at 254-710-8301.

There will also be a luncheon on Tuesday, March 22, at Joe T Garcia's in Fort Worth (2201 North Commerce Street).

The 45-year-old Rodriguez was introduced as Baylor's 19th head baseball coach last June after winning 401 games at Pepperdine and leading the Waves to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Super Regional berth in 2014.

Baylor and Coach Rod have a solid core returning from a team that finished 23-32 last season. That starts on the mound with the weekend rotation of Drew Tolson, Daniel Castano and Nick Lewis back intact, plus senior right-hander Austin Stone with an extra year of eligibility after receiving a medial redshirt.

Sophomore leftfielder Kameron Esthay hit a team-high .323 with five homers and 25 RBI and is one of six returning players who started at least 30 games.

The Bears open Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series at home against Washington and will play 15 of their first 19 games at Baylor Ballpark.

"I didn't look at any film. Statistics are obviously something I looked at, just because I needed to know who did what in regards to what to expect from certain guys," Rodriguez said. "But I told them, everybody has a clean slate. . . . I need to know what you're going to do now. I want guys to come here and show me their absolute best, and hopefully it's good enough."