Tag: Preseason All-Big 12

Trio of Oklahoma Sooners earn preseason All-Big 12 honors

As voted on by the coaches, three Oklahoma Sooners earned preseason All-Big 12 honors led by a pair of unanimous selections.

Led by unanimous selections for [autotag]Madi Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Taylor Robertson[/autotag], the Oklahoma Sooners earned three preseason All-Big 12 selections as voted on by the coaches.

Announced Wednesday, Williams and Robertson represent the only school to feature multiple unanimous selections.

Williams, from Fort Worth, Texas, earned her second consecutive unanimous preseason honor. She returns for her fifth season in Norman after a strong 2021 that saw her lead the Sooners with 18 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. Here 2021 earned her a unanimous All-Big 12 selection.

Robertson is the Big 12’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and earned aΒ  unanimous All-Big 12 selection at the conclusion of 2021. Last season she averaged 17.2 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, earning All-America honorable mention honors.

Plagued by injuries in the 2021-2022 season, [autotag]Ana Llanusa[/autotag] earned preseason honorable mention honors. She provides a third big-time scoring threat for [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners. In 10 games, Llanusa averaged 17.3 points and 2.3 assists per game.

Only four players in all were unanimous selections for the league’s preseason honors. [autotag]Ashley Joens[/autotag] of Iowa State and [autotag]Rori Harmon[/autotag] of Texas were the other unanimous selections. Joens was voted the preseason Big 12 player of the year.

Sooners Dillon Gabriel, Michael Turk receive All-Big 12 honors despite no team selections

Oklahoma punter Michael Turk and transfer QB Dillon Gabriel received preseason Big 12 honors.

Football season is fast approaching and with that comes all of the preseason hype trains, preseason awards, and all the other preseason predictions that come with the days leading up to the actual season.

Oklahoma sent multiple guys to the NFL this past spring and while it’s an honor to see them live out their dreams it also means they have the hefty task of figuring out who are the next wave of stars they will be depending on this upcoming season.

After nine All-Big 12 preseason picks last year, the Sooners will only reload this year with two.

Two names that the Big 12 believes are due for great seasons is that of transfer turned starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel who was named preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday by the league office.

Gabriel, a transfer from UCF, has totaled 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in his college career.Β  He’s completing 60.7% of his passes and has rushed for 372 yards and eight touchdowns.

He has a strong relationship with Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby who was his coach for two years at UCF before Lebby would move on to Ole Miss. Much of Gabriel’s college success was under the tutelage of Lebby and with both reunited in Norman, it’s more than reasonable to suspect Gabriel could be in for a big year throwing to Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, Jalil Farooq, and other talented playmakers.

Gabriel becomes the second straight Oklahoma player to be tabbed preseason of the year as last year Eric Gray earned the honor. Gray and Gabriel figure to spend a lot of time together in the backfield as both look penciled in as starters at their respective positions.

Michael Turk also received preseason recognition which follows his 2021 season where he was named All-Big 12 First team at punter. Turk was a weapon for Oklahoma especially early on when their offense struggled at times.

His ability to flip the field averaging 51.2 yards on 35 punts was game-changing at times. Twenty of his punts went for at least 50 yards and eight went for at least 60, while 16 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He’ll be depended on once again to help flip the field and make things tougher for opposing offenses by pinning them deep in their territory.

Contact/Follow usΒ @SoonersWireΒ on Twitter, and like our page onΒ Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

12 Texas Longhorns make Athlon Sports’ preseason All-Big 12 teams

Oklahoma and Iowa State led the conference with the most selections in Athlon Sports’ preseason All-Big 12 teams.

Athlon Sports recently honored the best players in the Big 12 conference for the 2021 college football season. Continue reading “12 Texas Longhorns make Athlon Sports’ preseason All-Big 12 teams”

Oklahoma’s Jason Ruffcorn, Peyton Graham named to preseason All-Big 12 team

Oklahoma relief pitcher Jason Ruffcorn and third baseman Peyton Graham were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team on Wednesday.

It has been a good week for Oklahoma relief pitcher Jason Ruffcorn and third baseman Peyton Graham.

Just two days after they were both named preseason All-Americans by D1Baseball, Ruffcorn and Graham were both selected to the preseason all-Big 12 team on Wednesday.

Ruffcorn looks to be absolutely set up to have a fantastic season for Skip Johnson and company. After showcasing himself well last season, there is a lot of reasonable buzz around what he could be in 2021 as the expected anchor of the Sooners bullpen.

On the offensive side of things, Graham is a quickly rising star for Oklahoma. He burst onto the scene as a freshman a year ago, making an immediate impact and being one of the team’s best offensive players in the short amount of time they were able to play before the season cancellation.

The season is set to start just a hair over three weeks from now, with the Sooners hosting Southern at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Feb. 19th.

[vertical-gallery id=23666]