Baylor soccer opens the 2026 season with a sharp early measuring stick, heading to No. 10 Arkansas on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff at Razorback Field on SEC Network+.
The Bears bring real continuity into the new year after a 14-5-4 run in 2025 that ended in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. That was the deepest postseason push of Michelle Lenard’s tenure and Baylor’s first trip to the Round of 16 since 2018. Lenard enters her fifth season leading the program, and she has plenty back to work with.
Eighteen players return from last year’s squad, including pieces from both ends of the field. Of Baylor’s 39 goals in 2025, 15 came from returning players.
Half of the team’s 40 assists are back as well. In goal, Azul Alvarez returns after logging all but 22 minutes last season and finishing with 12 shutouts.
The roster also got a boost through newcomers. From the high school ranks, Baylor added goalkeeper Hailey Smith, midfielder Brynnlee Bohannon and forwards Grace White and Kendall Mason. The transfer class includes Sydney Miller and Kate Runyon from Tennessee, Noelle Sather from South Florida, Taylor Evans from Duke, Kiera Martin from Santa Clara, Bella James from Texas A&M and Ava Slay from Vanderbilt.
The Big 12 coaches put Alvarez, Callie Conrad and Olivia Hess on the league’s Preseason All-Conference Team, giving Baylor its first trio of preseason selections. Alvarez was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers to Watch list.
Alvarez heads into her third season with the Bears after earning 2025 All-Region recognition. She posted 12 shutouts and 97 saves, which ranks ninth in program history, while playing 2,082 minutes, the fourth-most by a Baylor goalkeeper in a season. Her .820 goals-against average sits No. 10 on the school’s single-season list.
Conrad, who was an All-Big 12 Freshman Team pick in 2023, followed that up with second-team all-conference honors last season. The Mansfield native starts her fourth year of college soccer after scoring four goals and adding two assists in 2025. She started every match, took 31 shots with 15 on target, and delivered the game-winner against Iowa State in the middle of Baylor’s three straight 3-0 wins in Big 12 play.
Hess is coming off a breakout freshman year and earned her preseason nod as a sophomore. The former Big 12 Freshman of the Week started all 23 matches in 2025, scored three goals and added two assists.
Two of those goals were winners, one against Mississippi State in the home opener and another at Kansas State. She put 21 of her 38 shots on goal.
Arkansas enters ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and was picked second in the SEC preseason poll after claiming its fifth regular-season title in seven years in 2025. The Razorbacks split their preseason exhibitions, beating UMKC 3-0 before losing 2-0 at Memphis.
Baylor is receiving votes in the preseason poll and gets an immediate challenge with a top-10 opponent right away. The Bears do not have another ranked matchup until Sept. 3 against No.
16 LSU. In Big 12 play, five opponents are ranked in the top 25: No.
6 TCU, No. 13 Colorado, No.
15 Kansas, No. 20 West Virginia and No.
23 Texas Tech. BYU is also receiving votes.
After the trip to Arkansas, Baylor returns home Sunday to face Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. CT in a green out.
In Other News...
Baylor May Have An Unexpected Chance To Add Proven 2026 Help
A Colorado federal court ruling could create an unusual late-opening for programs like Baylor, with a U.S. District Court judge granting a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to treat high school class of 2022 athletes who used all four seasons of eligibility this spring as eligible for the 2026 season. For the Bears, that immediately puts a few familiar names back into the conversation, including Devyn Bobby, Omar Aigbedion, Kobe Prentice and Kole Wilson, all of whom could end up mattering to the roster picture well beyond the usual transfer-cycle chatter.
There is also a separate Baylor wrinkle already in motion on the current roster. Defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler was granted a temporary injunction that lets him play this season, and the legal process is not finished yet, with a trial expected in the next 90 to 120 days. For a team always balancing development, depth and roster planning, the court calendar may wind up shaping a few decisions as much as any offseason evaluation. [Read more 🡒]
Former Baylor Starter Suffers A Tough Setback At North Texas
The ripple effects of fall camp injuries are already showing up in the American, and North Texas has one of the more painful examples. Cornerback Caden Jenkins, a former Baylor starter, suffered an ACL injury and will miss the entire 2026 season, a major blow for a Mean Green secondary that was counting on him as an experienced piece on the back end.
North Texas now has to reshuffle its depth chart and ask other defensive backs to absorb a bigger workload right away, just as teams start sharpening their plans for the opener. It is a familiar camp challenge, but losing a player with Jenkins background changes the tone of the competition and leaves the Mean Green waiting to see who can step into a much larger role. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor's 2026 Defensive Line Just Got A Huge Twist
A McLennan County judge has given Baylor defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler a temporary path back onto the field for 2026, adding an unexpected layer to the Bears future on the defensive front. Wheeler has been fighting the NCAAs eligibility ruling, and the courts latest move means he can participate while the case continues, keeping one of Baylors roster questions very much alive heading into the new year.
The dispute now heads toward trial in roughly 90 to 120 days, with Wheelers long-term status still tied to how that case is decided. At the center of the lawsuit is a familiar but consequential eligibility fight: whether his 2021 junior-college season should count against the NCAAs five-year window, a ruling that could shape not only Baylors 2026 plans but Wheelers college career as a whole. [Read more 🡒]