Sports Briefs: Summer 2009

Classroom Victories

Baylor softball players Alex Colyer and Tiffany Wesley were named ESPN The Magazine Academic all-Americans, while Aaron Miller received the honor for the baseball team.

Colyer, a senior first baseman, made the first team after compiling a 3.90 grade point average in pre-med/health sciences studies. Wesley, a junior outfielder, made the second team with a 3.98 GPA in pre-med/health sciences. Miller, a junior outfielder and pitcher, made second-team Academic all-American as a management and entrepreneurship major.

High-caliber Coaching

Baylor men’s tennis coach Matt Knoll and women’s coach Joey Scrivano were named Big 12 Coaches of the Year after leading their squads to conference championships. Knoll, who was Co-coach of the Year, received the honor for the sixth time after guiding the Bears to their ninth Big 12 regular-season title in the league’s thirteen-year existence. Scrivano received the honor for the third time in four years after the Bears swept through the league with an 11-0 record. Under Scrivano, Baylor has won six Big 12 regular season titles in seven years.

Women’s golf coach Sylvia Ferdon was also named Big 12 Head Coach of the Year, after leading her team to its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in ten years. The Lady Bears finished fifteenth at the NCAA West Regional.

Bears Going Pro

Baylor players made a big impact in the NFL and Major League Baseball drafts this spring. Offensive tackle Jason Smith was picked second overall in the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams, matching the highest pick in school history. In the baseball draft, pitcher-outfielder Aaron Miller was picked in the first round (thirty-sixth overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was followed in later rounds by six more Baylor players: incoming freshman pitcher Zackry Dodson, shortstop Shaver Hansen, first baseman Dustin Dickerson, pitcher Craig Fritsch, pitcher Kendall Volz, outfielder Adam Hornung, and third baseman Raynor Campbell.