NEW FACES
2/13/2026 12:02:00 PM | Baseball
BSB opening season with new starters in seven of eight spots
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Centerfielder Ty Johnson, Baylor baseball's only returning starter that's back in his same spot, says he "can never sleep the day before opening day."
"I got excited like Monday this week," said Johnson, who hit his only home run of the season in last year's opener. "So, I've been getting ready. But we've got a great group of guys here. I'm really excited to see what we look like against other competition. But it's going to be a fun team to watch, for sure."
Coming off a season when 22 of their 33 wins came at home, the Bears will open the season with a three-game series against New Mexico State at 4 p.m. Friday at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
"I think the difference from last year to this year is we have more youth in the lineup," said fourth-year Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson. "There's some guys that'll be getting their feet wet. And every at-bat will be a new experience and a growing moment. And that'll be great. But we have other guys that we feel like we can count on. So, I like the lineup. It has good depth."
Pearson Riebock and Travis Sanders, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, also return to the lineup and have locked down the middle infield positions. But they are in new spots, with Sanders shifting from second base to shortstop and Riebock moving from third to second base.
"Second is definitely a more natural position for (Riebock), and Travis has always been a shortstop until last year," Thompson said. "I think we'll see some things that fire everybody up. Some of the plays they're going to make are going to make you smile and go, 'Wow, that was really special.' They just have to be themselves and keep getting better every day."
Johnson, Sanders and Riebock are three of the five Baylor players who have hit over .300 in a full season at the Division I level. They are joined by UTA transfers Tyce Armstrong and Cade Dodson, the probable starters at the corner infield positions.
A second-team All-WAC pick last year as a DH, Armstrong hit .319 with a career-high 12 homers and 46 RBIs, while Dodson hit .324 as a freshman with 16 doubles, one triple and five home runs.
"We're going to be really fast, and we're still going to have some pop in the lineup," junior lefthanded reliever RJ Ruais said. "We've got five guys returning that hit over .300, which is awesome. I think that's something a lot of schools may not be able to say. We've got guys that have proven they can do it."
Johnson will have some youth with him in the outfield as well, with freshmen Brady Janusek and Dylan Perez and redshirt freshman Hunter Snow potentially rotating at the two corner spots.
"We've got some super exciting guys," Johnson said. "All those young guys, they're super athletic, they look the part. Brady, for example, he's hitting balls 112, 113 (mph, exit velocity) in batting practice and in games. Bo is probably the fastest guy I've seen on a baseball field. And then, Snow is going to be really exciting this year as well. He's really matured as a hitter, really figured out his swing. So, I'm excited to see what he does on the field."
Baylor's opening weekend rotation will have redshirt junior Lucas Davenport starting Friday, followed by senior Ethan Calder for Saturday's 2 p.m. game and Division III transfer Cade Hansen in Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale.
Part of Wisconsin-Whitewater's 2025 Division III national championship team, Hansen was 12-1 with a 2.68 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 84 innings.
"I have the utmost confidence in those guys," Johnson said. "I've seen Lucas Davenport since he was in high school, just carving us up. . . . He took a real step up this year, so he's going to be a great Friday night guy for us. Calder, you know exactly what you're going to get from him. He's the most competitive guy on our staff.
"Cade Hansen, I think people will grow to love him. He fills up the zone, got a great sinking fastball, gets a lot of ground balls. And he'll go out there and compete as well. We've got a solid group of guys. And then everybody behind them, they're all dogs in that bullpen."
All three games this weekend will be streamed by ESPN+.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Centerfielder Ty Johnson, Baylor baseball's only returning starter that's back in his same spot, says he "can never sleep the day before opening day."
"I got excited like Monday this week," said Johnson, who hit his only home run of the season in last year's opener. "So, I've been getting ready. But we've got a great group of guys here. I'm really excited to see what we look like against other competition. But it's going to be a fun team to watch, for sure."
Coming off a season when 22 of their 33 wins came at home, the Bears will open the season with a three-game series against New Mexico State at 4 p.m. Friday at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
"I think the difference from last year to this year is we have more youth in the lineup," said fourth-year Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson. "There's some guys that'll be getting their feet wet. And every at-bat will be a new experience and a growing moment. And that'll be great. But we have other guys that we feel like we can count on. So, I like the lineup. It has good depth."
Pearson Riebock and Travis Sanders, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, also return to the lineup and have locked down the middle infield positions. But they are in new spots, with Sanders shifting from second base to shortstop and Riebock moving from third to second base.
"Second is definitely a more natural position for (Riebock), and Travis has always been a shortstop until last year," Thompson said. "I think we'll see some things that fire everybody up. Some of the plays they're going to make are going to make you smile and go, 'Wow, that was really special.' They just have to be themselves and keep getting better every day."
Johnson, Sanders and Riebock are three of the five Baylor players who have hit over .300 in a full season at the Division I level. They are joined by UTA transfers Tyce Armstrong and Cade Dodson, the probable starters at the corner infield positions.
A second-team All-WAC pick last year as a DH, Armstrong hit .319 with a career-high 12 homers and 46 RBIs, while Dodson hit .324 as a freshman with 16 doubles, one triple and five home runs.
"We're going to be really fast, and we're still going to have some pop in the lineup," junior lefthanded reliever RJ Ruais said. "We've got five guys returning that hit over .300, which is awesome. I think that's something a lot of schools may not be able to say. We've got guys that have proven they can do it."
Johnson will have some youth with him in the outfield as well, with freshmen Brady Janusek and Dylan Perez and redshirt freshman Hunter Snow potentially rotating at the two corner spots.
"We've got some super exciting guys," Johnson said. "All those young guys, they're super athletic, they look the part. Brady, for example, he's hitting balls 112, 113 (mph, exit velocity) in batting practice and in games. Bo is probably the fastest guy I've seen on a baseball field. And then, Snow is going to be really exciting this year as well. He's really matured as a hitter, really figured out his swing. So, I'm excited to see what he does on the field."
Baylor's opening weekend rotation will have redshirt junior Lucas Davenport starting Friday, followed by senior Ethan Calder for Saturday's 2 p.m. game and Division III transfer Cade Hansen in Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale.
Part of Wisconsin-Whitewater's 2025 Division III national championship team, Hansen was 12-1 with a 2.68 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 84 innings.
"I have the utmost confidence in those guys," Johnson said. "I've seen Lucas Davenport since he was in high school, just carving us up. . . . He took a real step up this year, so he's going to be a great Friday night guy for us. Calder, you know exactly what you're going to get from him. He's the most competitive guy on our staff.
"Cade Hansen, I think people will grow to love him. He fills up the zone, got a great sinking fastball, gets a lot of ground balls. And he'll go out there and compete as well. We've got a solid group of guys. And then everybody behind them, they're all dogs in that bullpen."
All three games this weekend will be streamed by ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
1B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballWhat colors are the Olympic Rings? 🤔
Tuesday, February 17
Baylor Baseball: Highlights vs. New Mexico State | February 15, 2026
Sunday, February 15
Baylor Baseball: Highlights vs. New Mexico State | February 14, 2026
Sunday, February 15
THREE. GRAND. SLAMS.
Saturday, February 14
