• National Women’s Soccer League’s inaugural rosters include Baylor senior

    Hanna GilmoreBrittney Griner and Brooklyn Pope aren’t the only Lady Bears headed to pro sports.

    Former Baylor soccer standout Hanna Gilmore made it through tryouts to land a spot on the inaugural season roster of the Chicago Red Stars, part of the newly founded National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The eight-team league is organized by the U.S. Soccer Federation and began its first season in April, and the 22-game schedule runs through August.

    Gilmore appeared in all 86 Baylor matches during her four years in Waco, starting 78 as a forward and midfielder for the Bears. She finished her tenure at BU last fall ranked sixth in program history in career goals and career scoring and aims to contribute that same sort of offense as a forward for the Red Stars.

    The Spring, Texas, native isn’t the first Bear to get a shot at professional soccer. Former Baylor All-American Dawn Greathouse played all three seasons (2001-03) in the short-lived Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA); one of her BU teammates, Courtney Saunders, was drafted into the league in 2001 but did not appear in a game.

    Sic ’em, Baylor soccer!