The transfer portal is flowing in the wrong direction for the Baylor Bears

The Baylor Bears entered the 2025 campaign with high expectations. The Bears returned 18 starters and were picked by one college football analyst, Phil Steele, to raise the Big 12 Championship trophy at season’s end. But somehow, Baylor stumbled and fell flat on their face mask with a 5-7 record.

Now there is a mass exodus of football talent catching a bus out of Waco to parts unknown via the transfer portal, which opens January 2 and will remain open until January 16. There are plenty of talented players that will be available in the portal.

The latest Baylor player to announce his intention to leave for “greener pastures” is talented starting linebacker Keaton Thomas. In two seasons with the Bears, Thomas recorded 219 tackles. This is a big loss for Dave Aranda and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman.

To fill that talent void left Thomas, Aranda and Klanderman should go after former Kansas State linebacker Austin Romaine, who also announced his intention to transfer. Klanderman and Romaine have a connection as Klanderman coached Romaine when he was the DC at Kansas State.

Highest Graded Big 12 Defensive Player:

🟣 Austin Romaine, Kansas State: 89.6@KStateFB pic.twitter.com/MF7AcnwIZr
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 13, 2024

In 2025, Romaine posted 66 tackles, one INT, seven tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Romaine recorded three games of double-digit tackles on his way to earning second-team All-Big 12 honors, even after he did not play in the last three games of the season. Romaine also was named second-team All-Big 12 in 2024.

For his career at Kansas State, Romaine recorded 184 tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss. Romaine could easily take over for Thomas, but Aranda and Klanderman need to make that call and pull the trigger now and bring Romaine to Waco.

#Baylor Transfer Portal Tracker
Incoming: TBD
Outgoing: RB Joseph Dodds, OL Sean Thompkins, OL Wes Tucker, OL Joe Crocker, DL Ronnie Mageo, DL Tonga Lolohea, DL DK Kalu, LB Jeremy Evans, LB KB Winston, LB Phoenix Jackson, S DJ Coleman, CB Caden Jenkins.
— Grayson Grundhoefer (@GrayGrundhoefer) December 21, 2025

There have been many graphics posted on social media showing the incoming and outgoing players via the portal for Baylor. The incoming line of the ledger said “TBD.” The Baylor football program is losing transfers like the Titanic lost its buoyancy. Someone better call an M.A.S.H. unit to stop the bleeding immediately. Already, next season is starting to look like a disaster waiting to happen unless Aranda and his staff start working the phones now to bring in some quality football talent to fill positions of need and provide depth.

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