Oklahoma collected four individual awards while Oklahoma State claimed pitcher of the year in the 2021 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Softball Awards, announced on Wednesday. The honorees were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The Sooners’ Jocelyn Alo earned Big 12 Player of the Year, Grace Lyons garnered Defensive Player of the Year, Tiare Jennings was named Freshman of the Year and Patty Gasso was voted Coach of the Year. Carrie Eberle picked up the Cowgirls’ first Pitcher of the Year accolade.
Alo leads the nation in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (1.147). She is second in RBIs (71), sixth in runs per game (1.23), seventh in batting average (.481) and 10th in on-base percentage (.574). In Big 12 statistics, the senior is second only to teammate Jayda Coleman in batting average. She is tied for the lead in walks (28), second in RBIs and on-base percentage, third in total bases (148) and hits (1.41), and fourth in runs scored.
Eberle led OSU to its best conference win percentage (.833) in Big 12 history. Her 10 wins, nine complete games and 75 innings pitched were the most in league games as were her 19 wins, 15 complete games and 139 innings in all games. The senior right hander has made 24 appearances on the season with a 19-2 record. Her six shutouts top the Big 12 and her 1.06 ERA is second.
Lyons anchors the OU defense from her short stop position. She has 45 putouts and 50 assists with just three errors for a .969 fielding percentage and has turned six double plays. Offensively, Lyons is fourth in the Big 12 in batting average (.447) behind three of her teammates. The junior is third in the conference in on-base percentage (.542), fifth in runs scored (51), sixth in slugging percentage (.821), tied for eighth in doubles (10) and 10th in hits (55) and total bases (101).
Jennings made an immediate impact in her rookie season. She leads the nation in RBIs (72) and ranks second in homers per game (0.52), runs per game (1.36) and slugging percentage (1.057). Her 23 home runs rank third and her batting average (.468) is 10th. In league leaders, Jennings is first in runs scored (60) and RBIs, and tied for the top spot in doubles (14). She is second in hits (66), home runs and slugging percentage.
Gasso led the top-ranked Sooners to their ninth consecutive Big 12 regular season title and 12th overall. OU finished league play at 16-1 with the only loss at No. 9 Oklahoma State in the final regular season weekend. Oklahoma enters postseason play with a 42-2 overall record. In her 25th season, Gasso has been recognized as coach of the year in nine consecutive seasons and 13 all-time.
Twelve student-athletes make up the All-Big 12 First and Second Team while 10 selections are named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team, regardless of position.
The 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship will take place May 14-15 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City. The top six teams will compete in a combination of pool play format (Friday) and bracket play (Saturday). Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/big12sports/6581. Visit Big12Sports.com for the schedule and telecast listings.
Click on the link to the upper right for the awards listing.