<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Impact;
panose-1:2 11 8 6 3 9 2 5 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
h1
{mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
margin:0in;
text-align:justify;
page-break-after:avoid;
layout-grid-mode:char;
font-size:16.0pt;
font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;}
h2
{mso-style-link:"Heading 2 Char";
margin:0in;
text-align:center;
page-break-after:avoid;
layout-grid-mode:char;
font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:italic;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:none;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.Heading2Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 2 Char";
mso-style-link:"Heading 2";
font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:none;
font-style:italic;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Oct. 12, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;font-style:normal">Baylor MBB Trio Collect Preseason All-Big 12 Recognition<o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<h2 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;font-style:normal">BU’s Ja’Kobe Walter named Preseason Freshman of the Year</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, </span>
<a href="mailto:WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">WM_Roberts@Baylor.edu</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">IRVING, Texas – </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">Baylor men’s
basketball’s Ja’Kobe Walter was named the Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, while joining seniors Jalen Bridges and RayJ Dennis as all-conference honorable mention honorees.
</span></strong><strong><span style="background:white;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">Walter is Baylor's third-straight Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year. The Bears and Kansas Jayhawks are the only teams in league
history to have the preseason conference freshman of the year in three consecutive seasons. BU is the first team in Big 12 history to have three straight solo honorees, as KU's Cliff Alexander shared the award with Texas’ Myles Turner in 2014-15.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Preseason All-Big 12 teams are voted on by the league's head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
<strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></p>
<p style="background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">Walter follows Keyonte George and Kendall Brown, who each took home the honor prior to their freshmen campaigns in 2021-22 and
2022-23, respectively. <o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-weight:normal">The sixth McDonald’s All-American in program history, Walter played his senior season at Link Academy in Branson, Mo., where he
helped the Lions to a 24-1 record in 2022-23. Before transferring, ESPN's No. 17-rated player led McKinney High School to its first-ever state championship game, where he scored a team-high 23 points against Duncanville. In addition to being named the UIL
district 5-6A offensive player of the year, he earned a spot on the 2021-22 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State Team and the 6A All-State Tournament Team.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#0E101A">Bridges is Baylor's lone returning starter from last year's squad, which amassed a 23-11 (11-7) record. The senior from Fairmont, W.Va., made an instant impact as one of two players to start all 34 games for
the Bears a season ago, while leading the team in rebounds (192) and blocks (35). The senior caught fire in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals last season, scoring a career-high 28 points on 10-11 shooting, including a Big 12 Championship record .875 (7-8)
from three-point range. </span><span style="color:#0E101A"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Dennis is the latest impact transfer for Scott Drew and the Bears. The Plainfield, Ill., native was the unanimous MAC player of the Year last season with
Toledo, appearing in 35 games and averaging 19.5 points and 5.8 assists en route to a regular-season conference title for the Rockets. Dennis was integral in helping the Rockets match a school record with 27 wins, leading the conference in assists per game
(5.8) and ranking 10<sup>th</sup> in the country in assist-turnover ratio. He scored in double figures in all 35 games to finish second in school history with 683 points, while his 202 assists were third-most in Toledo history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Baylor opens the 2023-24 season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with a marquee matchup against the Auburn Tigers at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The game
is slated for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff on ESPN.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;background:white">Fans interested in tickets for the upcoming Baylor men’s basketball season can fill out the Baylor Ticket Interest Form</span><a href="https://app.baylorbears.com/BUMBBTix"><span style="background:white"> here</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white">. Those
interested in putting their name on the season-ticket waitlist can do so </span>
<a href="https://app.baylorbears.com/MBBWait"><span style="background:white">here.</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><strong><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></u></strong></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><strong><u><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">2023-24 PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM</span></u></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">L.J. Cryer, Houston<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Hunter Dickinson, Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Dejuan Harris, Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Emmanuel Miller, TCU<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Max Abrams, Texas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Honorable mention:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"> Jalen Bridges (Baylor), RayJ Dennis
(Baylor), Ja’Kobe Walter (Baylor), Jamal Shead (Houston), Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Tylor Perry (Kansas State), Dylan Disu (Texas), Tyrese Hunter (Texas), Dillon Mitchell (Texas), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Preseason Player of the Year: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Hunter Dickinson,
Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Preseason Newcomer of the Year: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Hunter Dickinson,
Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Preseason Freshman of the Year: </span></strong><dfn><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white;font-style:normal">Ja’Kobe
Walter, Baylor</span></b></dfn><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;background:white"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#666666;background:white"> </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><strong><u><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">BAYLOR'S PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 SELECTIONS (since 2002-03)</span></u></strong><span style="color:black;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2007-08 – Curtis Jerrells, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2008-09 – Curtis Jerrells, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2010-11 – LaceDarius Dunn, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2011-12 – Perry Jones III, F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2012-13 – Pierre Jackson, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2013-14 – Isaiah Austin, C<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2013-14 – Cory Jefferson, F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2015-16 – Rico Gathers, F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2016-17 – Johnathan Motley, F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2019-20 – Tristan Clark, F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2020-21 – Jared Butler, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2021-22 –
</span><a href="https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10879"><span style="color:black;background:white;text-decoration:none">Matthew Mayer</span></a><span style="color:black;background:white">, G/F<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:black;background:white">2022-23 – Adam Flagler, G<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:center;vertical-align:baseline">
<i>—BaylorBears.com—<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF) <br>
Department of Athletics | Baylor University<br>
C: 254-227-2280</span><span style="color:#212121;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1D1D1D;mso-ligatures:none"><img border="0" width="152" height="43" style="width:1.5833in;height:.4479in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D9FCFB.65715FA0" alt="signature_339785252"></span><span style="color:#212121;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>