Baylor’s pitching haul keeps growing, and the latest name to join the Bears is one of the Southland Conference’s best.
Head coach Glenn Moore announced Friday that Southeastern Louisiana standout Hallie Burns has signed with Baylor. Burns, the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, becomes the second transfer from Southeastern to head to Waco this summer, following teammate Haley Crawford, who signed with the Bears last week.
“We are excited to welcome Hallie to Baylor and add another outstanding pitcher to our staff,” Moore said. “She has proven herself as one of the top pitchers in the country and has been a big part of Southeastern's success over the last couple of seasons.
She is a fierce competitor with tremendous poise in the circle. We can't wait to see her in our green and gold in 2027.”
Burns arrives after a dominant 2026 season that put her squarely among the nation’s top arms. The sophomore went 20-5 with a 1.68 ERA in 112.2 innings, helping Southeastern Louisiana win its first Southland Conference regular-season title and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Booneville, Miss., native made more history along the way. She became the first player in Southeastern history to earn Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year honors, and she also picked up Southland Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition, First Team All-Southland honors, all-tournament team honors and two Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week awards.
Her numbers stacked up nationally, too. Burns led NCAA Division I in hits allowed per seven innings at 4.10, ranked fifth in WHIP at 0.86 and finished 10th in ERA at 1.68. She also strung together 11 straight wins from March 6 through April 14 during Southeastern’s school and conference-record 25-game winning streak.
This wasn’t a one-year breakout. Burns was already making noise as a freshman in 2025, when she appeared in 37 games and made 14 starts.
She finished 12-6 with a 2.66 ERA, struck out 61 batters and held opponents to a .220 average over 102.2 innings. In the Southland, she ranked third in ERA, third in wins, third in opponent batting average and eighth in strikeouts.
Before college, Burns was a decorated prep pitcher at Booneville High School. She was originally committed to Ole Miss and earned Mississippi Player of the Year, Class 3A Pitcher of the Year and MaxPreps All-America honors. She also helped Booneville win back-to-back state championships and was an all-state basketball player.
Burns joins a Baylor transfer group that already includes Mattison Buster, the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, who signed early last month. That trio will also link up with WAC Freshman of the Year Kenzie Farrier-Pilon and Houston transfer Madox Mitchael.
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