The 2025-26 Big 12 Athlete of the Year nominees will be featured in alphabetical order by school starting Monday, July 13, through Wednesday, July 22, 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 2025-26 school year. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and must have participated in a league-sponsored sport.
The 16 full-member institutions that competed during the 2025-26 academic year are eligible.
The winners will be announced Thursday, July 23. Stay tuned to Big12Sports.com and the league’s social media platforms to see the remaining candidates.
This afternoon's featured candidates are Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Jacob Rodriguez.
Texas Tech Female Athlete of the Year Candidate
NiJaree Canady, Softball
Sr., Topeka, Kan.
Accomplishments
- Consensus All-American, earning First Team honors from D1Softball and Softball America and Second Team recognition from the NFCA.
- Four-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-Big 12, All-Big 12 Defensive Team, All-Big 12 Tournament Team and WCWS All-Tournament Team selection.
- Named one of the top 100 most influential athletes of the year by Time Magazine and was the CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for the second straight season.
- The only active player with 1,000 career strikeouts and 100 career wins, leading Texas Tech to its second consecutive Women’s College World Series Championship Series appearance.
Texas Tech Male Athlete of the Year Candidate
Jacob Rodriguez, Football
Sr., Wichita Falls, Texas
Accomplishments
- Recipient of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
- Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season and was the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship Game Defensive Player of the Game while helping Texas Tech win its first Big 12 title in program history.
- Won the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award and Lombardi Trophy, becoming the first Red Raider to capture four national awards and just the third player in college football history to win the Butkus, Bednarik and Nagurski in the same season. Was also named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy (college football's premier scholar-athlete award).
- First FBS player since 2005 with at least five forced fumbles, four interceptions, and two fumble recoveries in a season; led the nation with seven forced fumbles, totaled 128 tackles, and helped Texas Tech to a school-record 12 wins and its first College Football Playoff appearance.
The full list of nominees for each school can be found below.
2025-26 Big 12 Athletes of the Year Nominees
Arizona - Sydney Stewart and Jay Friend
Arizona State - Kenzie Brown and Jonny Kulow
Baylor - Tyler Isgrig and Devin Badenhorst
BYU - Jane Hedengren and AJ Dybantsa
UCF - Sierra Humphreys and Themus Fulks
Cincinnati - Juliette Laracuente-Huebner and Quinton Coats
Colorado - Maddie Shoup and Hunter Swanson
Houston - Michelle McLeod and Kingston Flemings
Iowa State - Mercyline Kirwa and Joshua Jefferson
Kansas - Shiyun Lai and Tyson LeBlanc
K-State - Shaylee Myers and Tah Chikomba
Oklahoma State - Billah Jepkirui and Preston Stout
TCU - Olivia Miles and Duncan Chan
Texas Tech - NiJaree Canady and Jacob Rodriguez