It's time for Baylor to make another statement.

The Bears appeared to be in fantastic shape a few seasons ago when they reached the College World Series and assembled an outstanding recruiting class. But instead of becoming one of the nation's perennial powers, the Bears have taken a step back in recent campaigns.

BU hope to turn the tide in the spring. That starts with improving this fall.

The Bears are in the midst of fall workouts with several important holes to fill. The pitching staff may be in good shape even without Kendal Volz and Aaron Miller. But the offense is a completely different story.

BU desperately needs some bats to rise to the occasion between now and the spring.

The offense will determine the fate of the 2010 squad.

It's time to dissect the Bears.

Baylor's five fall keys

1. Build some confidence -- We're not really sure why this is the case, but the Bears haven't appeared to be as confident the past couple seasons as they were earlier in the decade; especially in the '05 season, which ended with a trip to Omaha. Perhaps it was the fact BU had such great leaders in guys like Josh Ford and Michael Griffin. But at any rate, BU must find some leaders this fall, and also must build some confidence. BU hasn't lacked talent the last two seasons, but there's a reason for its lack of pizazz and confidence.

2. Rebuild the offense -- Critics can say what they want, but the Bears had a productive offense last season with Dustin Dickerson, Shaver Hansen and Aaron Miller leading the way. That unit finished last season with a .299 batting average. Not great, but certainly on the positive side of things. However, the Bears are going through fall workouts without those three after the MLB draft gobbled them up this past summer. The Bears return just two hitters -- Joey Hainsfurther and Dan Evatt -- that finished last season with a batting average over .300. That must change in the spring or it could be a long season.

3. Raynor Campbell needs to be the guy -- Campbell was one of the more highly touted recruits when he arrived on campus in Waco, Texas. But it'll be interesting to see how he responds in the spring after a lackluster '09 campaign. Campbell finished last season hitting .243 with eight homers and 31 RBIs. His power production certainly was respectable, but the Bears need him to hit for a solid average in the spring. Campbell is a senior and would like to make a statement before he departs.

4. Replace pitchers Kendal Volz and Aaron Miller -- Say what you want, but Volz was the staff ace last season and Miller was one of the more impressive arms I saw on this pitching staff last season. Both are gone. Volz finished last season with a 4.50 ERA in 86 innings. He also struck out 78 and walked 38. Miller, meanwhile, made six starts and appeared in 13 games. He had a 5.12 ERA in 51 innings. Without Volz and Miller, the Bears have 18 starts to replace. That won't be easy, but it's certainly doable.

5. Pitching needs to live up to the hype -- Baylor has a few talented returning pitchers in Shawn Tolleson, Craig Fritsch, Logan Verrett and Willie Kempf. But this unit as a whole needs to live up to its hype. Tolleson has had some injury issues in the past and has the ability to be a dominant pitcher. Still, it needs to be displayed in live action. Fritsch has earned more recognition in the last year, but needs to improve on his opponent's batting average, which was .297 last season. Kempf also has talent but finished last season with a 5.22 ERA. There's also sophomore Logan Verrett, who was phenomenal as a reliever last season. However, he seemed to go downhill a bit when the Bears experimented with him in the weekend rotation. Verrett is capable of being an elite pitcher for a full season. BU will be back in a regional if the pitching staff meets expectations.