Baylor first baseman Tyce Armstrong knows how to make a first impression.
Facing New Mexico State in the Bears’ 2026 season-opener, the redshirt senior tied an NCAA record with three grand slams in a single game in his Baylor debut. The only other player to accomplish the feat is Louisville’s Jim LaFountain on March 24, 1976.
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Armstrong was playing his first game in a Baylor uniform after transferring from UT Arlington.
For perspective, MLB.com’s Sarah Langs notes only one team in MLB history has hit three grand slams in a game (the New York Yankees on Aug. 25, 2011), let alone a single player. There are 13 MLB players with two grand slams in a game.
Batting in the leadoff position, Armstrong’s first homer came on a low curveball in the third inning.
Then came another on an inside fastball in the fourth inning.
And finally, there was a high fastball in the seventh inning to end the game as a 15-2 Baylor win by mercy rule. All three homers landed in left field.
Armstrong is now hitting .750 and slugging 3.000 through one game with Baylor, with 12 RBI. And a hit-by-pitch. It seems to have been a big moment for him, via the Associated Press:
“I’m speechless,” Armstrong said. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of.”
The Bears landed Armstrong after he slashed .319/.415/.556 with 12 homers and 46 RBI in his final season at Arlington, where he earned second-team All-WAC honors.