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University of Illinois Athletics

2018 Men's Gymnastics Roster

23 Bobby Baker

  • Ht./Wt. - /
  • Position AA
  • Hometown Lemont, Ill.
  • High School Lemont

Biography

Individual Event Titles 

Event Titles
Floor 2
Pommel Horse 1
Still Rings 2
Vault 9
Parallel Bars 7
High Bar 3
All-Around 6
Total  30

Career Highlights

  • 7x NCAA All-American (2018: all-around, still rings, vault | 2017: still rings, vault | 2015: parallel bars, all-around)
  • 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
  • 2015 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year
  • First Team All-Big Ten (2018)
  • Second Team All-Big Ten (2017)
  • Six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week
  • Six-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week
  • Academic All-Big Ten (2018)
  • Team MVP (2018)
  • Team's Most Consistent (2018)
  • 30 career event titles won

Career Highs

2017-Present
Floor Exercise:
14.400 (at Minnesota, 2/10/18)
Pommel Horse: 13.400 (at NCAA Finals, 4/21/18)
Still Rings: 14.950 (at NCAA Qualifiers, 4/21/17)
Vault: 15.000 (vs. Michigan, 2/24/18)
Parallel Bars: 14.700 (at Big Ten Championships, 4/7/17)
High Bar: 14.350 (vs. Michigan, 2/24/18)
All-Around: 83.000 (at Big Ten Championships, 4/6/18)

2013-2016
Floor Exercise:
15.400 (at Ohio State, 1/24/15)
Pommel Horse: 15.250 (at Air Force, 3/5/16)
Still Rings: 15.200 (at Ohio State, 1/24/15)
Vault:15.300 (at Air Force, 3/5/16)
Parallel Bars: 15.300 (vs. Iowa, 2/7/15)
High Bar: 15.200 (vs. UIC, 1/9/16)
All-Around: 89.550 (vs. Penn State, 2/14/15)

Senior - 2018

  • Academic All-Big Ten
  • NCAA All-American on all-around, vault and still rings
  • First Team All-Big Ten
  • Two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week 
  • Posted school records (under the current scoring system) on vault (15.000) and all-around (83.000)
  • Won three event titles in meets against ASU (FX, SR, VT) and Michigan (VT, HB, AA)
  • Third-place finish in all-around at the B1G Team Championships (83.000)
  • Voted Team MVP & Most Consistent 

Junior - 2017

  • NCAA All-American on still rings (eighth) and vault (seventh)
  • Second Team All-Big Ten after placing third on still rings at Big Ten Event Finals
  • Won four event titles on the year (three on vault, one on parallel bars)
  • Posted the highest Illini score on parallel bars (14.700, Big Ten Championships) and tied the highest score on vault (14.800, at Oklahoma, tied with Jacob Light) of the season
  • Saw action in 12 meets for the Illini

Sophomore - 2016

  • Two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week
  • Won eight event titles during the season across five different events
  • Achieved event titles on all six events and in the all-around in just 18 competitions; the quickest to achieve the feat in program history
  • Big Ten Preseason Gymnast to Watch
  • Won three event titles in meets against UIC (SR, PB, HB) and at Air Force (AA, VT, PB)
  • Owned the team's top all-around score of the season (89.450)
  • Posted the top Illini score on vault at 15.300
  • Turned in one of the top marks for the team on the parallel bars (15.200)
  • Recorded 23 top-five finishes across all events on the season

Freshman - 2015

  • Six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week
  • Two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week
  • First-team All-Big Ten
  • Won 10 event titles during the season across five different events
  • Posted the team’s best all-around mark on the season (89.550) the fourth-best mark by an Illinois gymnast

DTB Team Challenge (Germany)

  • Made his Senior National Team debut at the DTB Team Challenge
  • Finished eighth on vault scoring a 14.400
  • Finished 11th on parallel bars with a mark of 13.100
  • Team USA brought back the silver medal

High School/Club

  • Graduate of Lemont High School
  • Coached by Tim O'Connell
  • Placed 28th at the 2013 P&G National Championships in the senior division as a junior athlete
  • Finished third at 2012 Junior Nationals
  • Took eighth at the 2012 Visa National Championships
  • Finished seventh at the 2011 Visa National Championships

Personal

  • Born Robert Kenneth Baker on November 11, 1995
  • Son of Jeffrey Baker
  • Hobbies include hanging out with friends, watching movies and listening to and looking for new music
  • Biggest thrill in sports is "getting to the end of a routine you just hit for the first time and seeing your teammates as happy as you are."
  • Has one older sister, Becky, and one younger sister, Amanda
  • Majoring in Communication

Historical Player Information

  • 23

    2015Freshman

    AA
    23
  • 23

    2016Sophomore

    AA
    23
  • 23

    2017Junior

    AA
    23
  • 23

    2018Senior

    AA
    23