By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
ARLINGTON, Texas - Baylor baseball coach Mitch Thompson referred to this year's 16 seniors as a special group of guys that "I'm going to keep in my heart for a long time."
 
He was just hoping his time with them this year would last a little longer.
 
The Bears (33-22), who made a 11-win improvement this season to make the Big 12 Championship for the first time in three years, had their 2025 season come to a close with Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys in a first-round matchup at Globe Life Field.
 
"It's been a fun year," said senior catcher Cortlan Castle, who went 1-for-3 with a single and walk in the final game of his four-year career. "I think what I'm most proud of is just all the guys on our team and the perseverance and resiliency that they all showed. Just so many great memories at Baylor. Doing it now for four years, it's an experience I'll never forget."
 
Despite the season-ending loss, Thompson said the Bears "competed their tails off," taking an early 3-1 lead before giving up a pair of unearned runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
"I thought they played hard, and they played to win. I'm proud of them," he said. "I'm proud of the effort that they gave. I thought we were going to overcome a few things. And at the end of it, just didn't seem to be able to do it. But I thought our guys did a heck of a job, and I'm proud of them for the year, and I'm proud of them for the game. I'm proud of how they go about their business."
 
It starts with that group of seniors, who helped Baylor "take this next step in being great," Thompson said. Six of the Bears' seven hits in Wednesday's game came from seniors, while sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig struck out four of the six batters he faced in throwing the last 1.2 innings.
 
"I was happy to be out there and try to give us a chance to stay in the game," said Craig, who was named a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year award on Thursday.
 
"Just the relationships that we've built, being able to be out there for those couple innings, meant a lot to me. It's really frustrating we came up short, but it's the game of baseball and it's going to be like that. I was just happy to be out there and glad I could finish off the season with those guys."
 
Craig was one of the most incredible stories in college baseball this season. Including one year at Texas A&M, the veteran right-hander had an inflated 5.27 ERA with 36 relief appearances and a strikeout-to walk ratio of 35-to-22 going into this year.
 
Baylor's closer from the start, he was 3-0 with 10 saves, a nation-leading 0.56 ERA and a mind-blowing 51-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors.
 
"Gabe was with us two years ago, and he was with us last year in the struggle. And he stayed with us," Thompson said. "Look what he is now. He's leading the nation in ERA, he's leading the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio, and he's leading the nation in this and that. I mean, he's leading the nation; he's really good. And it's been fun to watch him stick with it."
 
One of Craig's biggest highlights came two weeks ago in a 5-4, 10-inning win over Oklahoma State at Baylor Ballpark, when he threw a career-long 4.1 innings of shutout relief, allowing just two hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
 
"The last three years is a testament to God's faithfulness just because of the relationships I've been able to build," he said. "Being able to go through the ups and downs with those guys is something I'll cherish forever. . . . It's really cool to see how everyone really stuck together throughout all of that and just continued to go out there and play hard and have fun and do it for the guy next to you on the field."
 
OSU coach Josh Holliday, whose team advanced to play second-seeded Kansas in Thursday's quarterfinal, said he "knew (Baylor) had an elite closer we would have to deal with."
 
"We just faced arguably the most dominant relief pitcher, possibly in the country, just now," he said. "You can make a case for that young man to say he indeed is that."
 
Baylor had plenty of redemption stories, of course, with senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons probably leading that list. Coming back from a broken leg injury "that makes all of us want to throw up," Thompson said, Simmons hit .307 this season with three homers, 15 doubles, one triple and 36 RBIs.
 
He capped his career with a 2-for-4 day that included a second-inning double and an eighth-inning single that was one of just two hits off OSU reliever Mario Pesca (7-2) in his 3.2-inning outing.
 
Making arguably the biggest turnaround, though, was senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp. A .180 hitter halfway through the 2024 season, he joined Craig on the All-Big 12 first team, hitting .358 with a career-high seven homers and 41 RBIs while playing near-flawless defense.
 
Among the other seniors,  outfielder Wesley Jordan hit .303 with a career-high 18 doubles, 10 homers and 41 RBIs; Castle was a rock at catcher and hit a grand-slam home run in a win over UTRGV; outfielder Enzo Apodaca hit .289 and matched his '24 total with six homers; centerfielder Ty Johnson hit .261 with a team-high 11 stolen bases and a career-best 31 RBIs; and Will Pendrgrass hit a homer in a win over Utah while also filling in as the first-base coach at times.
 
Other than Craig, seniors in the bullpen included Caleb Bunch, Will Glatch, Andrew Petrowski, Bryson Bales, Patrick Hail, Cole Stasio, Drew Leach and Hunter Teplanszky, who made a smooth transition from third base midway through the season.
 
"These are guys that kill it in the classroom, absolutely destroy it in the classroom," Thompson said. "These are really smart guys from really good families, who all have a faith and (understand) who Baylor is. Their legacy is going to be that they've helped this program continue to take this next step in being great."
 
With so many key spots to fill, Thompson said the coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail and transfer portal this summer after signing a nine-player class in the fall.
 
"We'll have to rebuild. We're losing a bunch of guys. We're losing a bunch of players that have had a lot of experience for us," he said. "It's a never-ending process. It just continues on, and you have to go find some other guys that want to be a part of it. Luckily for us, we have a great place where people want to come play, want to be developed, want to grow, want to get a first-class quality education and play in a big-time conference. So, it's not a real hard sell."