Baylor’s path back to winning in 2026 starts with a couple of familiar names getting statewide recognition. Linebacker Travion Barnes and punter Palmer Williams were both named to the 2026 preseason All-Texas Team, presented by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.
For a Baylor team coming off a 5-7 season, that kind of nod matters because it points straight to the players the Bears are counting on most. Barnes is expected to anchor the defense, while Williams gives Baylor one of the best weapons in the country when field position becomes the battle.
Barnes arrived in Waco through the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season, but his first year with the Bears never really got going. He played only four games before a season-ending injury cut things short, leaving him with 11 tackles and one sack in 2025.
Now he’s back, and Baylor needs him to be a difference-maker with Keaton Thomas gone to Ole Miss. Barnes has already shown what he can do when healthy.
In 2024 at FIU, he was one of the nation’s top tacklers, piling up 129 stops to earn C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honors. He added 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions that season.
There’s also been buzz that Barnes is trending in the right direction. One source recently told CBS Sports, "He's a name people probably forgot about," a source told CBS Sports regarding Barnes.
"... He had a hell of a spring."
Williams, meanwhile, earned a preseason first-team spot and enters the year with the kind of résumé that makes him one of the best punters in college football. Baylor would obviously rather not rely on him too much, because that would mean the offense isn’t holding up its end. But if the Bears do need him, he’s proven he can change a game with his leg.
He was an All-American last season and helped Baylor lead the Big 12 in net punting in 2025, averaging 45 yards per kick. He’s also put the ball beyond 50 yards 39 times in his career, which is tied for seventh in Baylor history.
DJ Lagway was the other big name tied to the state, and plenty of Baylor fans probably expected him to land on the list. The former five-star quarterback is back in Texas after two years with Florida, but he still has work to do after leading the SEC in interceptions thrown.
For Baylor, the preseason honors point to the same idea: if the Bears are going to climb back toward winning football, Barnes and Williams are two of the biggest reasons they have a shot.
In Other News...
Baylors November Test Suddenly Looks Nothing Like The Iowa State Fans Know
Iowa States offseason has been about change at nearly every turn, and that makes Baylors November trip feel a little different before the season even kicks off. The Cyclones have reshaped the staff, remade the roster with transfers and started leaning into a new identity on both sides of the ball, with Tyler Roehl expected to bring a more physical, run-first approach on offense and a different look defensively as well.
For Baylor, the challenge is not just preparing for a Big 12 opponent, but for one that may not resemble the group the Bears have studied in recent years. Jaylen Raynor is expected to lead the offense, Cameron Pettway is part of an unsettled backfield mix and the questions around how quickly all the moving parts fit together only add to the intrigue. By the time November arrives, the Bears could be facing a version of Iowa State that is still figuring out what it wants to be. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Fans Will Love What EA Finally Got Right
EA Sports College Football 27 is leaning hard into the kind of campus details Baylor fans have long wanted to see, with the Baylor Line set to be part of the game and the Baylor-TCU rivalry getting a little extra spotlight. The annual matchup has become one of the sports more recognizable grudge games, and hearing it framed as the Revivalry inside the game gives the series a bit more of the texture that has made college football different from every other video game sports title.
The release is still a little ways off, with the game due July 9 and early access opening July 2 for some preorder buyers, but Baylor already has a few familiar names in the mix. DJ Lagway and Hosea Wheeler are both included with ratings attached, giving fans an early look at how the Bears will be represented when the new edition arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Just Landed A Nonconference Storyline Fans Wont Forget
Baylors nonconference calendar is already setting up an interesting one for 2026-27, with the Bears agreeing to play Yale in a game that carries more history than your typical scheduling note. The matchup will bring back memories of the teams only previous meeting, when Yale knocked off Baylor in the 2016 NCAA Tournament for its first-ever tournament win.
The connection only gets tighter because forward Isaac Celiscar, who spent two seasons at Yale before transferring to Baylor, is now in line to compete for a starting job in Waco. Celiscar earned All-Ivy League honors last season, and his arrival adds another layer to a game that already has a built-in storyline, even before the teams tip off. [Read more 🡒]