No. 9 Baylor soccer (16-4-0, 8-1-0 Big 12) collected additional accolades to celebrate its already historic 2018 season campaign, collecting a total of seven Big 12 postseason honors, announced Tuesday afternoon by the conference office.
Fresh off the program’s fourth overall and second regular season Big 12 title, Baylor student-athletes were recognized with six various All-Big 12 honors and sixth-year head coach Paul Jobson was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.
With the Bears securing the program’s first regular season title since 1998 and already notching the most home wins in program history (10), Jobson is the second BU coach to earn the conference’s annual top coaching honor (Randy Waldrum, 1998).
Baylor is represented on the All-Big 12 teams by two first teamers, Julie James and Sarah King, two second teamers, Jennifer Wandt and Camryn Wendlandt, and two All-Freshman selections, Taylor Moon and Kayley Ables.
James joins Courtney Saunders (1996-1999) as the only two student-athletes in program history to earn three All-Big 12 first team selections, with the Fairview, Texas, native earning first team honors for the third-straight season. The senior captain has saved the best performance of her decorated collegiate career for last, posting career highs in goals (7) and points (16).
King earns the first All-Big 12 honor of her career, anchoring a Baylor backline that has allowed just two goals at home in 2018. The Coppell, Texas, native shifted from outside back to center back, helping lead a new-look defensive core that has held BU’s tradition as a relentlessly stingy squad. Despite her slight change in position, King has remained involved in the offense, scoring a goal and an assist to take her career assist count up to 20, the fourth-most in program history.
Wandt showed no signs of a slump in her sophomore season, holding an incredible 0.51 goals against average, which would stand as the lowest GAA in a season in program history. She has allowed just nine goals total this season, with only one of those finding the net at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The Brookfield, Wisc., native is one solo shutout away from setting a new program record for most in a single season. Wandt earns her first All-Big 12 honor and second Big 12 postseason award after being named to the All-Freshman team in 2017.
Wendlandt has enjoyed a breakout junior season, scoring goals at a remarkable clip. She has posted team-highs and career-bests in goals (9), points (19), and game-winning goals (5), with all five game-winners coming in conference play. The Coueur d’Alene, Idaho, native scored goals in each of the last four conference matches and all five Big 12 home matches this season. The All-Big 12 selection is the first in her two seasons with the Bears.
Taylor Moon has provided crucial spark off the bench, scoring four goals and four assists as a key reserve at the forward position. The Highland Village, Texas, native successfully converted Baylor’s lone PK attempt on the season, earning a foul inside the 18 during BU’s 3-0 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Soccer Championship quarterfinals before driving home the score.
Kayley Ables was the lone freshman to start on the Baylor backline this season, consistently growing into playing defender at the collegiate level. The Waco, Texas, product transitioned into the outside back vacancy left by King, posting the fifth-most minutes played on the roster this season.
Baylor had four All-Big 12 selections for just the fourth time in program history (1996, 1998, 1999), tying the program record for total selections.
Baylor has now had at least one All-Big 12 selection for seven-straight seasons and at least one Big 12 All-Freshman honoree for five-straight.
