New coach, similar expectations for Baylor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baylor's sideline will look different this season, but the Lady Bears expect similar results after they were picked as the preseason No. 1 team in the Big 12.

Coach Kim Mulkey stepped down after last season to take the job at LSU. She led the Lady Bears to three national championships, a dozen Big 12 titles and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 21 years on the job. Baylor made the Elite Eight last season.

Big shoes to fill for the Lady Bears' new coach, Nicki Collen.

“There's certainly a lot of pressure, but I didn't take the job for there not to be pressure,” said Collen, who coached the WNBA's Atlanta Dream the past three seasons. “It's going to be a new brand of basketball and it won't look the same, not going to feel the same, but we hope the results are the same.”

There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Waco. The Lady Bears bring back Queen Egbo and Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year NaLyssa Smith. She averaged 18 points and nine rebounds last season. Baylor adds Jordan Lewis, a transfer from Alabama and the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. She scored 17 points per game for the Crimson Tide.

The next best

Texas and Iowa State tied for second in the preseason poll. The Longhorns received two first-place votes and the Cyclones got one.

Both teams are coming off disappointing finishes in the conference. Iowa State was fourth in the Big 12 last season and Texas was fifth.

The Longhorns are trying to replace WNBA No. 1 draft pick Charli Collier, who led the team to the Elite Eight last season. They'll start from the ground up with Preseason Freshman of the Year Aaliyah Moore, a forward with a versatile offensive game.

“She works her tail off,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said of the former Moore High School standout. “She is very coachable kid and we are really looking forward to our freshman class. Our job is to get them ready for the season.”

The rest of the pack

The other teams chasing Baylor this season, in order of their places in the preseason poll, are West Virginia, Oklahoma, TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Kansas.

ED ZURGA/AP Baylor women's head coach Nicki Collen smiles as she listens to a reporter's question during the Big 12 media days on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.