Built at Baylor
From championship victories and record-setting performances to draft-day dreams realized, Baylor student-athletes and alumni are making their mark across the sports world. Bears are earning spots among the best in the game, and along the way, they’re making history, breaking records and giving the Baylor Family plenty to celebrate. Here are some of the standout moments that have made 2026 a year to remember.
Baylor football took the field on Sept. 19’s Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech with a special helmet decal, courtesy of artwork created by pediatric patients at McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple. Baylor student-athletes visited McLane’s in August, and the chosen artwork was created by 6-year-old Ilaria Ramirez of Cameron, Texas, with a design titled “Helmet of Hope.” The design features the words faith, victory and strength, each chosen by Ramirez, and serves as a tribute to children battling cancer and the resilience they demonstrate every day.
In July, Max Muncy (Dodgers) and Shea Langeliers (Athletics) made history, starting together in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game. Their selections marked the first time two Bears started the Midsummer Classic in the same year. Baylor was the only college or university with two starters in this year’s game.
Jeremy Sochan and the New York Knicks took home the 2026 NBA Championship, delivering the first title to NYC in 53 years. Sochan began his career with the San Antonio Spurs before being traded to the Knicks, who would go on to top the Spurs in five games for the title. Sochan’s championship gives Baylor consecutive years with alumni winning NBA titles, after Adam Flagler, B.S. ’23, and the OKC Thunder took home the top honors in 2025.
Following a breakout debut season, former Baylor men’s basketball guard VJ Edgecombe earned a unanimous selection to the 2025-26 NBA All-Rookie First Team. Edgecombe is the first Bear to earn first team All-Rookie honors and is the third All-Rookie in program history, joining Jeremy Sochan (2023) and Keyonte George (2024). Edgecombe was also a finalist for NBA Rookie of the Year and the MVP of the Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Both the Baylor men’s and women’s basketball programs sent talent to the pros, with Cameron Carr headed to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers (No. 24 overall, traded from Knicks) and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, B.S.Ed. ’26, picked at No. 30 by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
Baylor baseball had two student-athletes drafted in the 2026 MLB Draft, sending RHP Lucas Davenport, B.B.A. ’26, (Boston Red Sox) and 1B Tyce Armstrong (New York Yankees) to the pro ranks.
Former Baylor track national champion and U.S. Olympian Trayvon Bromell, B.S.Ed. ’18, bested fellow American and Paris 2024 Olympic champion Noah Lyles by .01 seconds to win gold in the men’s 100m final at the Paris 2026 Diamond League in June with a blazing time of 9.91.
Baylor women’s basketball legend Brittney Griner, B.S.Ed. ’19, became the WNBA’s all-time career blocks leader, swatting her 878th block (and counting) to help lead the Connecticut Sun to victory in a June matchup with the Chicago Sky. Griner and the Sun are playing their final season on the East Coast before relocating to Griner’s hometown of Houston in 2027 and reviving the Comets brand for the first time since 2008.
Tyce Armstrong’s eye-popping three-grand slam, 12-RBI performance against New Mexico State on Feb. 13 earned the senior first baseman a 2026 ESPY Award nomination in the category of Best Single-Game Performance. The Baylor baseball great was recognized alongside pro athletes like Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo (83-point game) and L.A. Dodgers’ Shoei Ohtani (three home runs, 10 strikeouts).