Tag: Big 12 awards

Skip Johnson wins Big 12 Coach of the Year, 12 Sooners earn conference accolades

After a fantastic season, Skip Johnson was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and 12 Sooners received Big 12 honors.

The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team has had a remarkable season in 2024. They were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 in the preseason poll and went on to win the conference’s regular season title.

Oklahoma finished the year 34-18 and 23-7 in Big 12 play and 2.5 games up on Oklahoma State in the regular season race. The Sooners clinched the conference title with a three-game sweep of the Baylor Bears on the second to last weekend of the season.

After their incredible season, Oklahoma Sooners manager Skip Johnson was named Big 12 Coach of the Year on Monday. It was the Sooners first Big 12 regular season title in school history.

Michael Snyder, who led the league in batting average during conference play earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. So did DH Easton Carmichael and sophomore pitcher Braden Davis. Carmichael led the Sooners in batting average on the year, hitting .363 with four triples, six home runs, and 59 RBIs.ย Davis was 8-3 on the season, but 7-1 in Big 12 play and earned two Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards during the season.

Earning second-team honors were outfielder Bryce Madron and pitcher Kyson Witherspoon.

Madron led the league with 65 runs scored and finished in the top 10 in conference play in runs scored, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. On the season, he paced Oklahoma with 11 home runs.

Witherspoon was 6-1 in Big 12 play and 7-3 on the season. He leads the team with a 4.24 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Jaxon Willits earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year after hitting .341 in conference play.

Reliever Carter Campbell, utility player Anthony Mackenzie, catcher Scott Mudler, infielder Jackson Nicklaus, outfielder John Spikerman, and Willits earned Big 12 honorable mention honors.

The Sooners now get ready for the Big 12 tournament, which begins on Tuesday in Arlington. Oklahoma’s first game comes Wednesday.

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Sooners’ Kinzie Hansen named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Oklahoma softball’s Kenzie Hansen is the new Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12.

Oklahoma Sooners’ softball catcher [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] has been named the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12. The OU Softball account announced the recognition on Wednesday morning via social media.

The graduate senior and three-time national champion has been a leader behind the plate for [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag]’s team. Hansen leads the Sooners with a .415 batting average and has hit eight home runs along with 28 RBIs. She also has six doubles and 14 walks on the season.

Hansen has been a vital part of this four-year run, in the latest installment of the Gasso dynasty. In her time at Oklahoma, she’s hit 57 career home runs, 246 career hits and national championship rings from 2021, 2022 and 2023.

 

Hansen celebrated senior day along with her teammates last week, and the Sooners enter the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 2 seed this week. Oklahoma will face off against either Houston or Kansas on Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

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Jennie Baranczyk named Big 12 Coach of the Year, Skylar Vann Co-Player of the Year

Led by Jennie Baranczyk and Skylar Vann, several Sooners earn Big 12 women’s basketball regular season awards.

After a tremendous run in Big 12 play, several Sooners were honored with Big 12 regular season awards.

In her second year at Oklahoma, [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] was named Big 12 coach of the year after leading the Sooners to their second straight Big 12 regular season title. This after a 6-5 performance in the nonconference portion of the Sooners schedule.

The Sooners are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and looking to make a statement as they push for a host seed in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma received a lot of big-time contributions this season and several players were honored with awards. [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag], who leads the Sooners in scoring and rebounds at 15 points and 7 rebounds a game, was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Year alongside Madison Booker of Texas. The Edmond, Okla. native at nine 20-point games in 2023-2024.

[autotag]Payton Verhulst[/autotag], who joined the Sooners after two seasons at Louisville, really came on strong in Big 12 play. Verhulst was second on the Sooners in points and rebounds. She earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors after averaging 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In Big 12 play, Verhulst scored 15 or more seven times, including a 25-point effort against Iowa State.

Oklahoma’s spark plug, [autotag]Neveah Tot[/autotag], earned a Big 12 honorable mention selection. As did Sooners’ freshman [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag].

The Oklahoma Sooners really came together during conference play, where they went 15-3 and picked up big wins over No. 2 Kansas State, swept Texas, and beat Baylor in a top-25 showdown. Oklahoma will wait to see who emerges from the early stages of the Big 12 tournament but have a great shot to take home the tournament title.

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Tโ€™Vondre Sweat leads the way as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Tโ€™Vondre Sweat and six others are named to the All-Big 12 First Team.

Texas Star defensive lineman Tโ€™Vondre Sweat was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year this week. Continue reading “Tโ€™Vondre Sweat leads the way as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year”

Texas RB Bijan Robinson wins Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week was a no-brainer selection this week.ย 

The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week was a no-brainer selection this week.

Texas running back Bijan Robinson is taking home the honors after his monster performance over Kansas.

The Jayhawks had trouble tackling Robinson all day long. He ran for a career-high 243 yards and four touchdowns on a 9.7 yards per carry clip. Robinson’s big day paced Texas to an easy 55-14 victory.

Bijan continues to make his way up the ranks among all-time leading rushers at the University of Texas. Saturday’s game pushed Robinson into fifth place on the Longhorns’ all-time rushing list.

Robinson is the first offensive player of the season to take home the weekly award for the Longhorns. Defensive back Jahdae Barron (Week 3) and linebacker Jaylan Ford (Week 7 and Week 10) received defensive recognition earlier in the year.

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OU Softball’s Jordy Bahl named Big 12 Freshman and Co-Pitcher of the Year

Freshman phenom and former No. 1 recruit Jordy Bahl has won the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year and Co-Pitcher of the Year awards for the 2022 season in unanimous selections. It was a busy day for the University of Oklahoma Softball team with many …

Freshman phenom and former No. 1 recruit Jordy Bahl has won the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year and Co-Pitcher of the Year awards for the 2022 season in unanimous selections. It was a busy day for the University of Oklahoma Softball team with many awards being won by other Sooners, including Coach Patty Gasso winning her 10th straight Coach of the Year award.

Bahl has been another star on the country’s best pitching staff with a 0.95 ERA, a 21-1 record and a total of 199 strikeouts in 132.1 innings pitched. She ranked 1st in the conference in wins, complete games and shutouts. She’s been as advertised as the best recruit in the nation sice coming to Norman from Papillion, Nebraska.

Bahl shared the Pitcher of the Year award with Oklahoma State ace Kelly Maxwell.

Brent Venables recently called Bahl the “Conor McGregor of college softball.” Given how downright scary she looks when staring down batters at the plate, it’s easy to see the comparison.

Patty Gasso called Bahl one of the best prospects she’d ever seen, and she’s seen quite a few during her illustrious career.

With so much to go in her collegiate career, fans can only wait to see what else Bahl will accomplish as a Sooner.

OU Softball will play on Friday against the winner of Iowa State and Baylor in the Big 12 tournament at 1 p.m. CST, which can be viewed on ESPNU.

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Texas QB Casey Thompson earns Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

He threw for 303 yards and accounted for six total touchdowns against Texas Tech.

The Texas offense has looked different over the past couple of weeks with Casey Thompson at the helm.

The junior quarterback has helped the team hit major strides in his two starts, and his most recent showing against Texas Tech led to him earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.

In what was his first start against a Big 12 opponent, we were all able to witness how Thompson would do against a Power Five team. He quickly silenced any doubters, if there were any, and helped Texas build a quick 14-0 lead and never looked back. The Longhorns dropped a total of 70 points, and likely could have reached 90 had they kept throwing the ball.

Thompson’s performance in the win was exceptional, and did not go unnoticed.

Thompson completed 78% of his passes for a career-high 303 yards, while also accounting for six total touchdowns. He has been very decisive with the ball, and has been able to consistently evade pressure with his feet.

The Longhorns will need another big performance from Thompson this week against TCU, who has absolutely owned Texas winning seven of the last nine matchups.

Texas Basketball: Andrew Jones, Greg Brown receive Big 12 weekly honors

Andrew Jones was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, while Greg Brown took home the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week honor.

Texas guard Andrew Jones has had quite the week. Continue reading “Texas Basketball: Andrew Jones, Greg Brown receive Big 12 weekly honors”