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BIG 12 TOURNAMENT • MAY 25-29, 2005

No. 13 BAYLOR (36-20, 19-8)

vs.

KANSAS (36-26, 11-15)

SBC BRICKTOWN BALLPARK • OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.

THE SERIES

Overall Record: Baylor leads 28-3

Waco: Baylor leads 15-0

Lawrence: Baylor leads 12-3

Neutral Site: Baylor leads 1-0

Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 23-3

Smith vs. Kansas: 20-3

First Meeting: at Baylor 8, Kansas 1 [1957]

Last Meeting: Baylor 3, at Kansas 2 [4/17/2005]

COACHES

BAYLOR: Steve Smith

Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986

Career Record: 408-254-1 (11th season)

Record at Baylor: 408-254-1 (11th season)

Kansas: Ritch Price

Alma Mater: Willamette, 1978

Career Record: 321-313-1 (11th season)

Record at Kansas: 102-85-1 (3rd season)

BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK

ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (Waco)

Tom Barfield, play-by-play

Lark Smith, color

INTERNET FEEDS

Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com

Audio: www.BaylorBears.com

Video: None

BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS

Baseball America 13th

Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 14th

NCBWA 8th

Collegiate Baseball 10th

PROJECTED STARTERS

Wednesday, May 25

BU - RHP Mark McCormick (7-2, 3.22 ERA)

KU - RHP Kodiak Quick (10-5, 3.53 ERA)

Baylor begins postseason play Wednesday, May 25, at the Ninth Annual Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament at SBC Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. Baylor, the second seed in the tournament, faces seventh-seeded Kansas in the first round. The Bears and the Jayhawks meet at 1 p.m. CDT. Baylor swept the season series at Lawrence, winning 8-4, 13-2 and 3-2.

Baylor (36-20, 19-8) lost two of three at home against Missouri over the weekend. Ranked 13th in this week's Baseball America Top 25, the Bears are 9-4 in their last 13 games and have not lost three straight this season. Baylor is 16-10 in non-home games this season.

Kansas (36-26, 11-15) took two of three at home against Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Jayhawks are 12-5 in their last 17 games. Kansas is 14-16 in non-home games this season.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in Waco. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the College Sports Network.

LEADING OFF

BEARS CLAIM SECOND BIG 12 TITLE

With its 7-5 victory Friday night over Missouri, Baylor clinched its second Big 12 Conference championship in baseball. The Bears share this season's title with Nebraska as both teams finished 19-8 in league play. Baylor won the conference outright in 2000, going 23-7 in the 11-team conference.

The Bears also finished with a record of at least .500 in Big 12 play for the ninth consecutive season. Baylor is the only program in the Big 12 to never suffer a losing season in league play. The Bears join Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M as the only programs with at least two Big 12 titles.

Furthermore, Baylor joins Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as the only program's to qualify for each of the Big 12 Conference's nine post-season tournaments. The Bears finished runner-up at the tournament in 1999, 2000 and 2003.

QUICK NOTES ...

• Baylor is 12-6 this season against nationally ranked opponents

• RHP Mark McCormick is 3-1 with a 1.28 ERA in five starts against ranked opponents.

• LHP Cory VanAllen is 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA in six starts against ranked opponents.

• Baylor has won a program-best six consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The previous program best was five in 1999.

• The Bears are 29-9 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.

• Baylor is 11-3 this season on Sunday.

• Baylor is 12-4 this season in Championship Gold jerseys.

• Baylor is 28-4 this season when scoring first and 11-2 when scoring in the first inning.

• Baylor is 30-6 this season when scoring at least four runs and 23-2 when scoring at least five runs.

• Baylor is 8-0 this season when hitting at least two home runs.

• Baylor is 29-3 this season when out-hitting the opponent.

• Baylor is 11-1 when leading after one inning, 15-4 after two, 18-4 after three, 20-4 after four, 22-2 after five, 29-2 after six, 30-2 after seven and 29-1 after eight innings or later.

• Baylor has recorded 61 infield hits, 16 bunt singles and 50 sacrifice bunts this season. Last season, the Bears produced 48 infield hits, six bunt singles and only 25 sacrifice bunts.

• 2B Michael Griffin established a Baylor record last Friday when he played in his 243rd career game. The previous record of 242 was held by Matt Williams (1998-2001).

• OF Reid Brees is hitting .323 (30-for-93) since April 1; he entered April hitting .247.

• C/DH Josh Ford is hitting a team-best .351 (40-for-114) since April 1.

• C/DH Zach Dillon is hitting .330 (35-for-106) since April 1 and leads the team with 23 RBI in that time.

• CF Chase Gerdes is hitting .302 (19-for-63) since April 1.

• Ford has not hit below .298 at any point this season, dipping below the .300 mark for only one at bat. He has reached base safely in 54 of 56 games and has hit safely in 46 of 56 games. Ford enjoyed a career-long 14-game hitting streak earlier this season; he also enjoyed a career-long streak of 37 games in which he reached safely.

• Ford is hitting .373 (25-for-67) over the last 17 games with four doubles, a triple and two home runs. He also has a .573 slugging percentage and a .469 on base percentage in that time.

• Baylor is 11-3 this season in McCormick's 14 starts.

• In LHP Trey Taylor's last 25 starts, he has allowed three or fewer earned runs 20 times and two or fewer 16 times. Baylor is 16-6 in Taylor's last 22 starts; he is 9-5 in that time.

• 10 times since the beginning of the 2004 season, Taylor has pitched at least 5.0 innings and allowed fewer earned runs than the opposing pitching staff and did not earn a win. Taylor is 0-3 in those 10 starts with seven no-decisions.

• SS Paul Witt has produced 14 of his 24 RBI this season with two outs (58.3 percent), the best such percentage on the team.

• C/DH Zach Dillon leads the team with 23 two-out RBI. He also hits .377 with runners on base (second on the team) and .387 with runners in scoring position (tops on the team).

• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 156-91 (.631). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (47), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005).

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Big 12 Tournament returns to Oklahoma City after being played last season at Ameriquest Field in Arlington. Each of the first five Big 12 Tournaments and the 2003 event were played in Oklahoma City. The 2002 and 2004 tournaments, both at Arlington, are the only Big 12 Touranments not played in OKC. All-Sports Stadium was the site of the first conference tournament in 1997; the next year, Bricktown Ballpark opened in OKC, and it served as the host site from 1998-2001.

Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997, Baylor has appeared in all nine conference tournaments -- one of just three Big 12 teams to have done that, joining Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Bears advanced to the championship game in 1999, 2000 and 2003, losing each time. Baylor has three conference tournament titles under its belt, having won the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1977, 1978 and 1993.

Baylor is 28-27 all-time in conference tournaments, including a 13-14 mark in Big 12 tournaments. Oklahoma has played the most number of Big 12 tournament games (30); Baylor and Texas A&M (27 each) rank second. Baylor's .481 winning percentage in Big 12 tournaments ranks fourth in the league.

THE KANSAS SERIES

Baylor and Kansas meet for the 32nd time Wednesday. The Bears hold a 28-3 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-1 Baylor victory during the 1957 season. Baylor is 23-3 against Kansas as Big 12 Conference opponents. This is the first time Baylor and Kansas have met in the Big 12 Tournament.

The Bears have won 23 of the last 24 meetings, sweeping seven of the last eight season series. The only non-sweep in that span was in 2003 when the Bears took two of three at Lawrence.

SMITH HONORED BY DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Baylor baseball head coach Steve Smith was named 2005 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by the Dallas Morning News, the publication announced Tuesday. C/DH Zach Dillon, C/DH Josh Ford and RHP Mark McCormick were named to the publication's all-conference first team, while LF Reid Brees, 2B Michael Griffin and RHP Ryan LaMotta were second-team selections.

Smith, who also was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by the publication in 1999, led Baylor to its first Big 12 title since 2000 this season; the Bears finished 19-8 in league play. He has earned conference coach of the year honors from at least one outlet in four seasons during his 11 years at Baylor.

FIVE BEARS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS

Baylor placed five student-athletes on the league's academic all-conference teams, announced Tuesday by the league office. C/DH Zach Dillon, 2B Michael Griffin, RHP Ryan LaMotta and RHP Sean Walker earned first-team honors, while RHP Jeff Mandel was a second-team selection.

With this year's four first-team selections, Baylor baseball student-athletes have received 45 first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors in the league's nine-year existence. That total leads the conference, ahead of Nebraska (38) and Oklahoma State (34).

Dillon, Griffin and Walker all are three-team first-team recipients, joining Eric Nelson (1997-99), Jon Topolski (1997-99), Preston Underdown (1998-2000), Ross Bennett (2000, 2002-03) and Tim Hartshorn (2000-02) as Baylor's only three-time honorees. LaMotta was named first team for the second consecutive year; this is Mandel's first academic all-conference selection.

Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and media relations offices, the baseball academic all-league squad consisted of 29 first-team members combined with 18 on the second team. First-team members include those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify student-athletes must record a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters. All players nominated must have participated in 60 percent of his team's scheduled contests, while pitchers are required to have at least one inning pitched per game played by the team or have appeared in 35 percent of their team's total games. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

REYNOLDS OUT WITH BROKEN THUMB

1B Kyle Reynolds will miss a minimum of two weeks' action due to a broken left thumb, sustained during last Saturday's game against Missouri. Reynolds, who started each of Baylor's first 55 games, did not play in Sunday's regular-season finale and will miss this week's Big 12 Conference Tournament in Oklahoma City.

A product of Second Baptist High School in Houston, Reynolds leads Baylor with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases. On the season, he is hitting .270 with 40 runs, 57 hits, 14 doubles, 33 RBI, a .450 slugging percentage and a .343 on base percentage. In his first season at first base after two years as a middle infielder, Reynolds has posted a .990 fielding percentage with only six errors in 582 total chances.

McCORMICK NAMED BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK

RHP Mark McCormick was named Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Monday. This is the third time this season McCormick has been so honored and the fourth time in his career. Ryan Rohlinger of Oklahoma and Adam Carr of Oklahoma State were selected as conference co-players of the week.

Baylor pitchers have been honored as Big 12 Pitcher of the Week six times this season, twice as many as any other school in the league. Texas pitchers have been honored three times; no other school's pitchers have been honored more than twice.

McCormick clinched Baylor's second Big 12 Conference championship last Friday night with a 12-strikeout performance in the Bears' 7-5 victory over Missouri. The product of Clear Creek High School in Houston held the Tigers to one unearned run on two hits and three walks over 6.0 innings, establishing a career high for strikeouts. He was the first Baylor pitcher to amass at least 12 strikeouts in a game since Steven White in 2003.

With the honor, McCormick becomes just the sixth pitcher in Big 12 history to earn pitcher of the week four or more times in a career. Former Nebraska great Shane Komine holds the conference record with eight honors. McCormick also ties two Baylor records with the honor, joining former All-America Jason Jennings as the only Bears to win the award three times in a season and four times in a career.

BEARS BEST IN THE BIG 12

Baylor has the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference since the league's start in 1997. At 156-91 (.631), the Bears are ahead of Texas (151-99, .604) and Texas Tech (146-102-1; .588). Included in the first nine seasons for Baylor are two Big 12 championships (2000, 2005) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1998, 1999).

On top of that, Baylor is the only Big 12 Conference school to have ranked in the top 10 nationally during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005). Baylor also is the only school to have never finished below .500 in Big 12 play.

Including the 2004 totals, Baylor leads all conference schools in Big 12 history in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and in first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (41).

HEAD COACH Steve Smith

Steve Smith begins his second decade as head coach at Baylor in 2005. In his first decade, Smith guided the program to near unprecedented heights, including the most successful six-year run in the program's 100-year history.

Smith has compiled a 408-254-1 (.616) career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage of any coach in Baylor baseball history, and he ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories. Smith has led Baylor to six NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and Big 12 Conference titles in 2000 and 2005. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.

In January 2005, Smith was named head coach of the USA Baseball National Team for the upcoming summer. Smith is just the second Big 12 Conference coach to serve as head coach of the national team. He also previously served as an assistant coach under his former Mississippi State boss Ron Polk on the 1998 USA Baseball National Team that posted an overall record of 30-12.

Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50-win season in 1999 and a Big 12 championship in 2000, and piloted the team to six straight NCAA appearances from 1998 to 2003. His Bears have the best conference record in the Big 12 since the league began. Through the 2004 season, Smith ranked 47th nationally among active coaches in winning percentage with a .628 mark, fourth among Big 12 coaches.

The 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Smith came to Baylor from Mississippi State, where he was an assistant under Ron Polk for five seasons. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.

A former standout pitcher at Baylor in 1982-1983, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA as a junior. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1983 Major League Draft by the San Francisco Giants and played four years of pro ball before moving into the coaching ranks.

An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 12 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team for 11 straight years (1992-2002).

In Smith's first 10 seasons as head coach, the Bears produced four first-round draft picks, 10 All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, one National Player of the Year, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 25 first-team all-conference performers, nine freshman All-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor also placed a league-leading 41 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past eight seasons.

UP NEXT ...

Baylor awaits word from the NCAA about further postseason competition. Regional host sites are announced Sunday, May 29, with participating teams announced Monday, May 30.