Baseball

Cincinnati’s 2024-25 Big 12 Athlete of the Year Nominees

The 2024-25 Big 12 Athlete of the Year nominees will be featured in alphabetical order by school starting Monday, July 14, through Wednesday, July 23, at 11 a.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT.

Each institution nominated one male and one female athlete of any classification who competed for their institution during the 2024-25 school year. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and must have participated in a league-sponsored sport.

The 16 full-membership schools that competed during the 2024-25 academic year are eligible.

The winners will be announced Thursday, July 24. Stay tuned to Big12Sports.com and the league’s social media platforms to see the rest of the candidates.

This afternoon’s featured candidates are Cincinnati’s Kerrington Cross and Joleigh Crye.

Cincinnati Male Athlete of the Year Candidate
Kerrington Cross, Baseball
Sr., Brownsburg, Ind.   
Accomplishments
  • Semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy. Selected in the seventh round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres.
  • Named Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12. Also earned All-America honors from Perfect Game, the College Baseball Foundation and ABCA/Rawlings.
  • Led the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.526) and OPS (1.173) during the 2025 season. Finished his career ranked in the top five in nearly every major offensive category in Cincinnati baseball history.
  • Graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Chemistry. Served as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative.
Cincinnati Female Athlete of the Year Candidate
Joleigh Crye, Swimming
Jr., Avon, N.Y.
  • Earned First Team All-America honors in 2025 after finishing fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Swimming Championship.
  • Won the Big 12 title in the 100-yard breaststroke and placed second in the 100-yard butterfly.
  • Named First Team All-Big 12 and selected as Big 12 Swimmer of the Week three times during the season.
  • A Business Administration Marketing major with a minor in Sociology. Honored for three consecutive years with the Ally Sidloski Bearcats STRONG Award, which recognizes excellence in Sports Performance (Body), Academic (Mind) and Professional Development (Character).
2024-25 Big 12 Athletes of the Year Nominees
Arizona - Colton Smith and Devyn Netz
Arizona State - Cam Skattebo and Kenzie Brown
Baylor - Nathaniel Ezekiel and Alexis Brown
BYU - James Corrigan and Lexy Halladay-Lowry
UCF - RJ Harvey and Hannah Lovejoy
Cincinnati - Kerrington Cross and Joleigh Crye