Two Baylor Bears were drafted in the first six rounds of the 2025 MLB draft — BU’s 32nd and 33rd picks in the last 35 drafts, dating back to 1991.
Sixth-year senior Gabe Craig, the Bears’ closer, was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round, while senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp was selected one round later by the Kansas City Royals.
Both were guys who began their careers at other schools, but found a new level at Baylor under head coach Mitch Thompson:
Craig spent two seasons at Tyler Junior College and one at Texas A&M before landing at Baylor, where he blossomed into one of the best closers in baseball. This spring, he led the nation with an 0.56 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, and a 17:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, earning consensus all-America honors as a finalist for National Pitcher of the Year.
After growing up in The Netherlands, Kemp played two years at Western Oklahoma State College before transferring to Baylor. Always known for his SportsCenter Top 10-worthy defense, Kemp’s bat broke out in 2025 as he led the Bears in batting average (.358), hits (72), and RBI (41) and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
“They bought into old-school development — hard work, commitment, discipline, coachability,” Thompson told local media. “They kept buying into the work ethic. They kept buying into the player development. They showed resiliency. They’ve been through some tough times, and there’s going to be tough times coming in pro baseball — but they know how to get themselves back out.”
Fun facts: MLB Network analyst Jim Callis called Craig’s slider “maybe the best slider in the draft”… Kemp is the third Baylor shortstop drafted by the Royals in the last six years, following Nick Loftin (2020) and Jack Pineda (2022).
Sic ’em, baseball Bears!