Four Baylor Baseball Standouts Pick Up All-Big 12 Honors

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 20, 2025

Four Baylor Baseball Standouts Pick Up All-Big 12 Honors
Craig and Kemp named to All-Big 12 First Team; Riebock and Sanders earn honorable mention recognition
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

IRVING, Texas – Baylor baseball sixth-year senior right-hander pitcher Gabe Craig and senior infielder Tyriq Kemp were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while freshman infielder Pearson Riebock and redshirt sophomore infielder Travis Sanders both picked up honorable mention recognition as the 2025 Big 12 Awards were announced by the conference office on Tuesday.

The four Bears each collected their first-career all-conference honors, as BU landed two members on the first team for the first time since the 2021 season. Additionally, Riebock was named to the All-Freshman Team as one of the top-12 rookies in the league, becoming Baylor’s first representative since 2023 and the 14th selection in program history.

One of the best relief pitchers in college baseball, Craig finished the regular season with a 3-0 record and earned 10 saves in 30.1 innings of work. He struck out 47 batters and walked just three, holding opponents to a .131 batting average. Among relievers with at least 30 innings pitched, Craig led the country in WHIP (0.53), ERA (0.59) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (15.67), ranked second in H/9 (3.86) and BB/9 (0.89) and placed eighth in K/9 (13.95). Of his 23 appearances, Craig logged 21 scoreless outings, 13 hitless outings, and struck out multiple batters 15 times. He ended the regular season on an 18.2-inning scoreless streak across his last 11 appearances.

Craig was even better in conference play, lowering his ERA to 0.49. He allowed just one run on seven hits across 18.1 innings in 12 appearances and locked down six saves. Against Big 12 opponents, Craig struck out 31 batters and walked just one. He led all Big 12 pitchers with 19 games finished in 2025 and did not allow an extra-base hit all year. Craig’s 10 total saves are the most in a single season by a Bear since Troy Montemayor’s 11 in 2018.

A senior shortstop from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Kemp had a breakout season to the tune of a .364 batting average, .551 slugging percentage and 1.004 OPS. He led the Bears with 72 hits, including 14 doubles, one triple and seven home runs, and drove in 39 runs. Kemp stole nine bases on the year and scored 48 runs, all while playing gold-glove caliber defense up the middle. Kemp ranked second among Big 12 shortstops, and eighth nationally, with 11.45 defensive runs saved in 2025, committing only eight errors and fielding at a .966 clip.

During conference play, Kemp batted .389, slugged .602 and raised his OPS to 1.068, with five of his seven home runs coming against league foes. He led Baylor with 23 RBIs and walked more times (16) than he struck out (15) against Big 12 pitchers.

Riebock hit .313 in his rookie season with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 32 RBIs while manning the hot corner for the Bears. He tallied 34 of his 56 hits in league play, batting .296 in the Big 12. The freshman from Rockwall, Texas, swiped six bags and scored 30 runs as a mainstay in the middle of the BU order.

Sanders made an immediate impact as a first-year transfer to BU, hitting .338 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. After taking over at second base in mid-March, Sanders heated up and hit .431 in the month of April with 10 extra-base hits. He tied for the team lead with five home runs in Big 12 play, batting .318 and slugging .527 against league foes.

Baylor baseball continues its streak of having at least one All-Big 12 representative in each year since the league’s inception and has had at least one all-conference member in every season dating back to 1995.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

2025 ALL-BIG 12 AWARDS
First Team
Gabe Craig, RP
Tyriq Kemp, INF

Honorable Mention
Pearson Riebock, INF
Travis Sanders, INF

All-Freshman Team
Pearson Riebock, INF

-BaylorBears.com-



__________________________________

Max Calderone | Director of Athletics Communications (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_2084594483]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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