The 2021 All-Big 12 Baseball Awards have been unveiled by the Conference, as selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their own players.
Texas Tech’s Jace Jung was tabbed as the Big 12 Player of the Year, while TCU’s Brayden Taylor earned Freshman of the Year. Oklahoma State’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand garnered Newcomer of the Year. Texas had a pair of honorees as right-hander Ty Madden earned Pitcher of the Year and David Pierce collected his second Coach of the Year accolade.
Big 12 regular-season champions TCU and Texas led the way with a combined 13 selections on the All-Big 12 First and Second Teams. The Horned Frogs had seven selections, while the Longhorns had six recipients.
Jung leads the Conference in five categories: OPS (1.279), slugging percentage (.779), walks (45), RBIs (65) and home runs (20). He is the first freshman to lead the Big 12 in home runs since Nebraska's Matt Hopper in 2000. Jung ranks in the top five nationally in five areas: RBIs (1), home runs (4), RBIs per game (5), slugging percentage (5) home runs per game (6) and total bases (8). He is the fifth Red Raider to win the Player of the Year honor and fourth since 2016. He joins his brother and TTU alum Josh who garnered the accolade in 2019.
Madden anchors a Texas pitching staff that is ranked the best amongst autonomy conferences. Madden is 6-3 with a 2.55 earned run average in 13 appearances. The redshirt sophomore leads the league in the fewest hits per game allowed (6.42) and he is second in the Big 12 with 98 strikeouts. Madden is the seventh Longhorn to earn Pitcher of the Year recognition and the first since Taylor Jungmann in 2011.
Pierce guided the Longhorns to a 40-13 overall record and a 17-7 mark in Big 12 play en route to a share of the regular-season Conference title. Texas won its ninth regular-season title and second under Pierce (other in 2018). Texas ranks in the top-five in five of the major polls and is No. 2 in the D1 Baseball and NCBWA ledgers.
Taylor is tied for a team-leading 10 home runs and is second on the squad with a .579 slugging percentage. He ranks in the top-10 in the Conference in six categories including: tied for eighth in stolen bases (11), eighth in plate appearances (232), 10th in on-base percentage (.435) and tied for 10th in RBIs (46). Taylor is the third Horned Frog to garner Freshman of the Year, joining Luken Baker (2016) and Connor Wanhanen (2015).
After playing an All-American season at Yavapai College in 2020, Encarnancion-Strand has made an impact in the Big 12 during his first season. The sophomore ranks in the top-20 in three statistical categories: No. 4 in runs batted in (60), No. 2 in total bases (137) and No. 20 in RBIs per game (1.25). His 15 home runs are second in the Big 12. He is the fourth Cowboy to earn Newcomer of the Year and first since Matt Kroon in 2018.
A total of three student-athletes earned unanimous All-Big 12 First Team distinction. In addition to Encarnacion-Strand, Jung and Madden, Ivan Melendez from Texas was a unanimous selection.
On the All-Freshman Team, TCU and Texas led the way with three honorees. Unanimous All-Freshmen selections included TCU’s Taylor, TCU’s River Ridings, UT’s Mitchell Daly and UT’s Tanner Witt.
| 2021 ALL-BIG 12 BASEBALL AWARDS |
| Player of the Year: |
Jace Jung, Texas Tech, Fr., INF, San Antonio, Texas/MacArthur |
| Pitcher of the Year: |
Ty Madden, Texas, R-So., RHP, Cypress, Texas/Cypress Ranch |
| Newcomer of the Year: |
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Oklahoma State, So., INF, Pleasant Hill, Calif./Yavapi Junior College |
| Freshman of the Year: |
Brayden Taylor, TCU, Fr., INF, West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills |
| Coach of the Year: |
David Pierce, Texas |
| ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM |
| Name, School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Andy Thomas, Baylor^& |
C |
Jr. |
Murietta, Calif./Murrietta |
| Tyler Hardman, Oklahoma@ |
INF |
R-Jr. |
Corona, Calif./Temescal |
| Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Oklahoma State* |
INF |
So. |
Pleasant Hill, Calif./Yavpai JC |
| Mitchell Daly, Texas |
INF |
Fr. |
Madison, Ala./Bob Jones |
| Cal Conley, Texas Tech |
INF |
Fr. |
Mount Carmel, Ohio/West Clement |
| Jace Jung, Texas Tech |
INF |
Fr. |
San Antonio, Texas, MacArthur |
| Jared McKenzie, Baylor |
OF |
Fr. |
Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock |
| Phillip Sikes, TCU |
OF |
Jr. |
Paris, Texas/Pima CC |
| Dru Baker, Texas Tech |
OF |
So. |
Tomball, Texas/Memorial |
| Justin Campbell, Oklahoma State |
UTL/RHP |
Fr. |
Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley |
| Ivan Melendez, Texas* |
DH |
R-So. |
El Paso, Texas/Coronado |
| Jordan Wicks, Kansas State+ |
LHP |
So. |
Conway, Ark./Conway |
| Ty Madden, Texas |
RHP |
R-So. |
Cypress, Texas/Cypress Ranch |
| Tristan Stevens, Texas |
RHP |
R-Jr. |
Springfield, Mo./Maple Woods |
| Luke Boyd, Baylor |
RHP |
Sr. |
Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff |
| Haylen Green, TCU |
LHP |
Sr. |
Lufkin, Texas/Lufkin |
|
| ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM |
| Name, School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Braxton Fulford, Texas Tech@ |
C |
Jr. |
Lubbock, Texas/Monterey |
| Skyler Messinger, Kansas |
INF |
R-Jr. |
Niwot, Colo./Niwot |
| Peyton Graham, Oklahoma |
INF |
R-Fr. |
Waxahachie, Texas/Waxahacie |
| Brayden Taylor, TCU |
INF |
Fr. |
West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills |
| Gene Wood, TCU |
INF |
R-Sr. |
Flowood, Miss./Alabama |
| Cam Williams, Texas |
INF |
R-Jr. |
Odessa, Fla./San Jacinto College |
| Zach Kokoska, Kansas State@ |
OF |
Jr. |
Latrobe, Pa./Virginia Tech |
| Dylan Phillips, Kansas State |
OF/UTL |
So. |
Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prepatory School |
| Mike Antico, Texas |
OF |
R-Jr. |
Colts Neck, N.J./St. John's |
| Hunter Wolfe, TCU |
DH |
R-Sr. |
Kinsport, Tenn./Walters State CC |
| Tyler Thomas, Baylor |
LHP |
Jr. |
Keller, Texas/Keller |
| Austin Krob, TCU |
LHP |
So. |
Lisbon, Iowa/Kirkwood CC |
| Russell Smith, TCU |
LHP |
R-So. |
Midlothian, Texas/Midlothian |
| Micah Dallas, Texas Tech% |
RHP |
So. |
Aubrey, Texas/Homeschool |
| Jackson Wolf, West Virginia |
LHP |
Sr. |
Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln |
| Jason Ruffcorn, Oklahoma+ |
RHP |
R-Sr. |
Cedar Park, Texas/Texas A&M |
| Brett Standlee, Oklahoma State% |
RHP |
So. |
Jenks, Okla./Jenks |
|
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Baylor: |
Hayden Kettler, Jack Pineda, Tre Richardson |
| Kansas: |
Maui Ahuna, Dylan Ditzenberger; Tavian Josenberger, Jonah Ulane |
| K-State: |
Chris Ceballos, Tyler Eckberg, Nick Goodwin, Cameron Thompson |
| Oklahoma: |
Conor McKenna, Brett Squires, Brandon Zaragoza |
| Oklahoma State: |
Cade Cabiness, Max Hewitt, Carson McCusker, Parker Scott, Jake Thompson, Caeden Trenkle |
| TCU: |
Zach Humphreys, Gray Rodgers |
| Texas: |
Silas Ardoin, Trey Faltine, Pete Hansen, Douglas Hodo III, Aaron Nixon, Tanner Witt, Zach Zubia |
| Texas Tech: |
Patrick Monteverde, Ryan Sublette |
| West Virginia: |
Austin Davis, Paul McIntosh |
Ties in voting created an additional second-team starting pitcher.
| ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM |
| Name, School |
Pos. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Tavian Josenberger, Kansas |
OF |
Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill |
| Nick Goodwin, Kansas State |
INF |
Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas |
| Jace Bohrofen, Oklahoma |
OF |
Oklahoma City, Okla./Westmoore |
| Trevor Martin, Oklahoma State |
RHP |
Asher, Okla./Asher |
| Elijah Nunez, TCU |
OF |
Arlington, Texas/Arlington Martin |
| River Ridings, TCU* |
LHP |
Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Academy |
| Brayden Taylor, TCU* |
INF |
West Jordan, Utah/Copper Hills |
| Mitchell Daly, Texas* |
INF |
Madison, Ala./Bob Jones |
| Aaron Nixon, Texas |
RHP/INF |
McAllen, Texas/McAllen |
| Tanner Witt, Texas* |
RHP/INF |
Houston, Texas/Episcopal |
| Ben Hampton, West Virginia |
LHP |
De Pere, Wis./West De Pere |
| Mikey Kluska, West Virginia |
INF |
White Sulphur Springs, W.Va./IMG Academy |
* Unanimous Choice
^2019 First Team Honoree
+2019 Second Team Honoree
@2019 Honorable Mention
%2019 All-Freshman Team
&2018 Second Team Honoree