Tyce Armstrong couldn’t have scripted a better start to his Baylor career.
Taking on New Mexico State on college baseball’s Opening Day, Armstrong became just the second Division I player to ever hit three grand slams in a game, lifting the Bears to a 15-2 mercy rule victory.
“I’m speechless,” he told reporters after the game, per video from the Waco Tribune-Herald‘s Michael Haag. “That was the most cool thing I’ve ever been a part of.”
Not only did Friday’s game mark the beginning of the 2026 campaign for Baylor, but it was also Armstrong’s first regular-season game with his new program after transferring to the Big 12 school after three years at UT Arlington.
Batting cleanup for the Bears against the Aggies, the redshirt senior was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance of the game before embarking on his historic performance.
Armstrong delivered his slams in the third, fourth and seventh innings, with the final blast ending the game by pushing Baylor’s lead to 10 and triggering the mercy rule.
“It was the situation for it, but I wasn’t trying to do it,” Armstrong said of his final at-bat. “I just got the right pitch and didn’t try to do too much.”
The three homers travelled a combined 1,194 feet and made the 22-year-old the first DI player in over 50 years to complete a three-slam game. The last to do so was Louisville’s Jim LaFountain against Western Kentucky in 1976.
There has never been a three-grand slam game in MLB history.
Armstrong ultimately ended the night 3-for-4 with the three blasts, 12 RBIs, one strikeout and the hit-by-pitch.
After posting a 13-17 record in conference play and a 33-22 overall mark in 2025, Baylor is working to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, and Armstrong headlines a strong group of transfers that the Bears are hoping will lead them there.
The slugging first baseman found his way to Baylor after being named to the All-WAC Second Team in 2025. He slashed .319/.415/.556 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs over 54 games for UT Arlington, helping him land with the Bears for his senior season.
It’s a move that took all of one game to prove fruitful for both sides.
