Bears OF Jared McKenzie Puts Name in Transfer Portal
It was a baseball season to forget for the Baylor Bears, as they would finish their season on four-game losing streak to end with a 26-28 record and miss the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Following the Bears' loss to Oklahoma State to end their Big 12 Tournament, an 11-run blowout in seven innings, it was announced on Monday that coach Steve Rodriguez would be stepping down following the disappointing 2022 season.
Now, things appear to be getting worse for the Bears as star outfielder Jared McKenzie has put his in the transfer portal, per Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, which is a big blow for the Bears.
McKenzie was a major contributor for the Bears this season, earning a place on the Second Team All-Big 12 Team as a result. He would finish the season slashing an impressive .288/.388/.517 while leading the team in home runs with 11 and driving in 42 runs, good for second most on the team.
Losing McKenzie to the portal would be a major loss for the Bears, as he has been the engine that makes the Baylor offense run throughout the season, despite a losing record on the year.
McKenzie could ultimately end up staying in Waco following the announcement of a new head coach, which would be the best case scenario for the Bears. However, if McKenzie does ultimately transfer and play somewhere else in 2023, it will be interesting to see who from the 2022 team follows suit.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for the FanNation network. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism with a Master's of Science in Journalism with a Specialization in Sports Media.