Football

Kansas’ 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 Kansas’ Devin Neal and Camryn Turner.     

Kansas Male Athlete of the Year Candidate
Devin Neal, Football
Sr., Lawrence, Kan.    
Accomplishments
  • Started all 12 games in his senior season, rushing for 1,266 yards with 16 touchdowns. Became the first Jayhawk ever to rush for 1,000 or more yards in three seasons.
  • Kansas’ all-time leader in rushing yards (4,343), rushing touchdowns (49) and 100-yard games (25).
  • Earned 2024 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. His 4,343 career rushing yards ranked fifth on the Big 12’s all-time leaderboard.
  • Graduated in spring 2025 with a degree in sport management and a minor in business. Named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year,
Kansas Female Athlete of the Year Candidate
Camryn Turner, Volleyball
Sr., Topeka, Kan.
  • AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist and AVCA All-America Third Team All-American.
  • Earned All-Big 12 First Team honors after leading the league with 11.29 assists per set. Her 1,219 assists in 2024 ranked sixth on KU’s single-season list.
  • Finished her career No. 5 in career assists (4,030), No. 7 in assists per set (9.55) and No. 10 in digs (1,145) in KU program history.
  • Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport management and a minor in business. Academic All-Big 12 honoree and recipient of KU’s 2025 Marlene Mawson Exemplary Woman Student-Athlete Award. Served as Kansas’ SAAC President.
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
Colorado - Travis Hunter and Jordan Nytes
Houston - J’Wan Roberts and KeAyla Dove
Iowa State - Jaylin Noel and Rachel Joseph
Kansas - Devin Neal and Camryn Turner