Jan. 20, 2005

For the Baylor golf team to be successful and make its eighth-straight postseason appearance, head coach Greg Priest will have to rely on a full roster of underclassmen and leadership by a pair of outstanding sophomores instead of his senior All-American.

The Bears will be without senior Ryan Baca (Richmond, Texas), who is a two-time All-Big 12 selection, a PING/GCCA All-American and ranks second all-time at Baylor in top-five and top-10 finishes. Baca will redshirt the 2004-05 season as he recovers from medical issues which arose during the beginning of the fall semester. With the young Bears gaining a year of maturity, Baca should be able to come back in 2005-06 and lead the team as it makes a run at the NCAA Championships.

"Any time you take an All-American out of the lineup it's going to change things a little bit," Priest said. "(Baca's absence) is going to allow an opportunity for guys to play right now and get some experience they wouldn't have received otherwise. With the talented guys we have, I believe we'll be able to overcome Ryan being out, we're just going to have to have some guys step up."

Sophomores Jeremy Alcorn (Brownwood, Texas) and Jeremy Frye (Palestine, Texas) jumped right into the lineup last year, playing more than 30 rounds each, and will shoulder the load for the young Bear squad. Alcorn was second on the team last season with a 74.45 stroke average, while Frye was third with an average of 74.54. Alcorn is already off to a great start this season, ranking second individually in the Big 12 and picking up his first career victory at LSU's University Club Intercollegiate.

"We have two sophomores that played in the majority of the tournaments last year," Priest said. "They gained a lot of valuable experience and did a great job last year, so we're going to lean on them. I think they both reflect the style of our team, they're quiet leaders - letting their play set the tone."

Junior Will McDonald (Birmingham, Ala.) is now the eldest member of the team, assuming the role of the vocal leader. McDonald redshirted his freshman season and was able to get a full season of play in last year. Four redshirt freshmen - Wes Williams (Franklin, Tenn.), Dusty Isabell (Athens, Texas), Matt Briggs (San Antonio, Texas) and Brian Meck (Austin, Texas) - will battle for the remaining spots in the lineup. Williams, Isabell and Briggs spent their first year at Baylor, while Meck is a transfer from New Mexico. Priest expects them to step in immediately and contribute.

Priest also brought in a strong crop of freshmen this season. Kevin Lozares (Mountain View, Calif.), Carmine Mediate (Southlake, Texas) and Bill Allcorn (Abilene, Texas) all experienced success on the junior golf and high school levels and could see action if they can adjust quickly to the college game.

The Bears made their seventh straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2004, but were left with a hunger to return to the postseason after falling short of their goal of competing at the NCAA Championships.

"At the regional, we played a tough golf course, and it let them see what they were up against," Priest said. "We started two freshmen and didn't know what to expect. We played in poor weather conditions, but in the future we should have a huge advantage by knowing what we have to look forward to."

The strengths of this year's team is its loose, low-key play. Priest points out that the group doesn't get stressed out on the course - not getting too high or too low.

"I just want them to relax and have fun," Priest said. "If they will work hard and prepare well for each tournament, all they need to do is go out there, turn it loose and play."

The Bears got off to a solid start in the fall, finishing in the top six three times and posting a team scoring average of 292.87. Alcorn led the team with three top-10 finishes, including a victory at LSU's University Club Intercollegiate.

"What I stress is focusing on one tournament at a time, getting better each time out, and not jumping ahead," Priest said. "If we continue to improve, then we'll get to where we need to be at the end."