Shortstop Travis Sanders Enters Portal, Keeps Options Open Ahead of MLB Draft

Baylor redshirt junior shortstop Travis Sanders has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, according to D1Baseball.

The Copperas Cove native was one of the best shortstops and leadoff hitters in the conference, earning All-Big 12 Second-Team honors this spring. He led the Bears in batting average (.369), stolen bases (24) and on-base percentage (.458). He scored 49 runs and totaled 82 base knocks — the most by a Baylor hitter since 2021 — 15 of which were doubles, to go along with nine home runs.

Sanders also led the squad in multi-hit contests (24) and reached base in 51 of the 54 games he played in this season. Sanders finished the regular season with just six errors and a stellar .972 fielding percentage.

After transferring from Texas Tech, following the 2024 season, Sanders totaled eight home runs and 25 RBIs last spring across 43 starts with the Bears. He posted the team’s second-highest batting average (.335) and slugging percentage (.549).

The consensus always seemed to be that Sanders wouldn’t be on Baylor’s roster in 2027, as he was expected to go in a high enough round of the MLB Draft, where he would likely sign and forego his final season of collegiate eligibility.

For reference, Baylor’s shortstop Tyriq Kemp was drafted in the sixth round of the MLB Draft in 2025, and Sanders had similar, if not slightly better, overall stats this spring. Sanders was also drafted in the 14th round by the Boston Red Sox, coming out of high school in 2022.

There’s a chance that Sanders could return to college if he doesn’t like where things are shaping up in the pre-draft process, but it most likely wouldn’t be to Baylor.