Baylor soccer claims Big 12 title

Twenty years ago this fall, Baylor soccer won BU’s first-ever Big 12 title. Thursday night, the Bears brought that trophy back to Waco as the 2018 Big 12 regular season champions.

The title-clinching moment came in a 1-0 win over Oklahoma, as 10th-ranked Baylor finished off the regular season with a 15-4 overall record (including an 8-1 mark in the Big 12). Junior Camryn Wendlandt scored the decisive goal 10 minutes into the contest, and the Bears kept OU off the board all evening, recording the team’s 12th shutout of the year.

[WATCH highlights from the Bears’ win over OU]

The win gives Baylor soccer its fourth Big 12 title, following the regular season championship in 1998 and Big 12 tournament titles in 2012 and 2017.

High hopes abounded coming into the season for the program, and head coach Paul Jobson’s Bears exceeded the expectations. They began the season ranked 15th nationally and picked to finish third in the Big 12. They finish the regular season ranked 10th in the nation (and 4th in RPI).

Next up: the Big 12 Soccer Championship in Kansas City, where Baylor will be the No. 1 overall seed. In the first round, the Bears will face No. 8 seed Iowa State on Sunday (11:30 a.m., streamed live at Big12Sports.com); the conference semifinals will take place Nov. 2, followed by the championship match Nov. 4 (2:30 p.m., FS1).

Following the conference tournament, Baylor will head into the NCAA tournament for a second straight year, fortified by experience from last year’s dramatic run that reached the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

Sic ’em, Baylor soccer!