The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns top Big 12 Softball postseason awards
05.10.2006 | Softball
DALLAS -- University of Texas All-America senior pitcher Cat Osterman earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors for a conference-record fourth time on Wednesday, while head coach Connie Clark was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Longhorn junior catcher Megan Willis claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors, to highlight the 2006 Big 12 Softball Postseason Awards. In addition, the No. 2 nationally-ranked Longhorns, 49-5 to date, were recognized as the league champions and were presented the Big 12 regular season championship trophy.
Additionally, Osterman (Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs HS) was a unanimous choice to the All-Big 12 First Team for the fourth consecutive year. Joining her from Texas on the First Team were senior second baseman/designated player Chez Sievers (Mission Viejo, Calif./Aliso Niguel HS) and sophomore shortstop Desiree Williams (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells HS). Willis and senior rightfielder Amber Hall (Deer Park, Texas/Deer Park HS) were selected Second Team All-Conference. Williams and Sievers gain first team honors for the first time, while Willis and Hall are both named to the second team for the second time in their Longhorn careers.
Osterman, the two-time USA Softball National Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Big 12 pick, has won Pitcher of the Year honors each of her four years at UT (in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006; in 2004, she was a member of the USA Olympic Team and did not play for the Longhorns). Remarkably, she becomes the FIRST student-athlete in Big 12 Conference history - across all sports - to win a major award four times in a career.
The Coach of the Year honor was the second for Clark, who also earned the honor in 2002, while Willis was selected as the conference's top defensive player for the first time.
The All-Big 12 honors are selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. The awards were handed out during the annual pre-Big 12 Championship (tournament) luncheon on Wednesday afternoon at the Sheraton-Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is the site of the 2006 Big 12 Championship, taking place Wednesday-Saturday, May 10-13 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Kansas Serena Settlemier, a pitcher/designated player, was tabbed Player of the Year, as she leads the league in RBI (59) and was second to Osterman in ERA (0.83) in conference play. Baylor third baseman Brette Reagan (.250 batting average, league-high 15 runs scored) received Freshman of the Year accolades.
During the 2006 conference regular season, Osterman (12-0) led the league in wins (12), strikeouts (184), shutouts (9) and opponent batting average (.093). Osterman also recorded a Big 12-best 0.39 ERA. She earned a season-high nine league Pitcher of the Week honors to bring her career total to a league-record 25. The All-American has earned four First Team selections and three Big 12 Championship MVP honors while at Texas.
"I really appreciate this award, and it's nice to know that I've been able to be consistent for four years," noted Osterman, who is the only active player also named to the Big 12 Softball 10th Anniversary Team. "The fact that I've earned this honor four times is a reflection of the respect that I and our team have gained from the league, and I greatly appreciate that as well."
Willis was named to the All-Big 12 second team for the second straight year. Behind the plate, she has called three no-hitters, 12 one-hitters and 11 two-hitters thrown by the Texas pitching staff in 48 games to date. Willis has also thrown out 11 baserunners; a testament to her arm, only 28 runners have attempted to steal against her. In conference action, Willis threw out seven runners in 10 attempts while committing just one error in 234 total chances - for an amazing field percentage of .996. She also batted .245 in league action with three RBI and three runs scored.
"This is an honor I share with my teammates, especially our pitchers," said Willis. "I consider this a big honor, since I take a lot of pride in my defensive skills behind the plate. I pride myself on my catching, and am always working on that aspect of my game."
In Big 12 regular season action, Sievers hit a team-high .405 (15-37) with a team-best seven doubles and team-high .649 slugging percentage. She also had seven RBI in league play. Williams was second among the Longhorns in league batting average (.304, 14-46) and collected two homers and seven RBI while scoring 10 runs.
Hall hit .236 in her final year of Big 12 action and drove in seven runs to tie Williams and Sievers for the team-high in that category. Hall also had a team-high four home runs in Big 12 competition and played errorless ball in the outfield.
Clark receives Big 12 Coach of the Year accolades for the second time, after earning the honor in 2002. To date this year, she has led Texas to its 49-5 overall record, to the No. 1 national ranking in April, and to the program's third Big 12 regular season title in five years. Texas, currently ranked No. 2 nationally, finished conference play with a 15-2 league record. Clark also led UT to the Big 12 regular season crown in 2002 and 2003.
"First and foremost, I thank my players, especially our outstanding group of seniors who have led us to so much success," Clark stated at the banquet upon receiving Coach of the Year accolades. "Whenever you are a coach and you stand up to accept an award, it is always a reflection of those around you and those who support you. It is all about recruiting the right student-athletes, having great assistants, and having a great support system - the things I am thankful for at Texas. This really means a lot to me, since it is an award given by my peers. I thank you for that. We have a great group of successful coaches in this league, and that makes this award that more significant."
The Longhorns enters the Big 12 Championship as the top-seeded team for the third time in conference history. Clark has coached UT, also the defending postseason champions, to a conference-high four Big 12 championships (1999, 2002, '03, '05). Texas plays its first Big 12 tourney game on Wednesday evening (7:30 p.m., May 10), facing either No. 8 seed Oklahoma State or No. 9 seed Iowa State, who play earlier in the evening in a play-in game.
2006 All-Big 12 Softball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Serena Settlemier, Kansas, Utility, Sr., Kelso, Wash./Kelso
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Cat Osterman, Texas, LHP, Sr., Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs
Freshman of the Year: Brette Reagan, Baylor, 3B, Fr., Tomball, Texas/Tomball
DEFENSIVE PLAYER of the YEAR: Megan Willis, Texas, C, Jr., Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol
COACH OF THE YEAR: Connie Clark, Texas
ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
(Name, School, Pos. Cl., Hometown/Previous School)
Chelsi Lake, Baylor C Jr. Keller, Texas/Keller
Ashley Monceaux, Baylor 1B Jr. Tucson, Ariz./Pima CC
Kelly Osburn, Baylor LF Sr. Missouri City, Texas/Elkins
Kassie Humphreys, Kansas P Jr. Glendale, Ariz./Cactus
Serena Settlemier, Kansas UT Sr. Kelso, Wash./Kelso
Jen Bruck, Missouri P/DP So. St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West
Micaela Minner, Missouri OF So. Sanger, Texas/Sanger
Lizzy Aumua, Nebraska OF Sr. Santa Fe Springs, Calif./Mt. San Antonio
Ashley DeBuhr, Nebraska P Jr. Beatrice, Neb./Beatrice
Jessica Yoachim, Nebraska INF Sr. Arkansas City, Kan./Arkansas City
Norrelle Dickson, Oklahoma LF Jr. Orange, Calif./El Modena
Samantha Ricketts, Oklahoma DP Fr. San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty
Kristin Vesely, Oklahoma CF Sr. Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain
Laura Kitchens, Oklahoma State OF Jr. Yukon, Okla./Mustang
Cat Osterman, Texas P Sr. Houston, Texas/Cypress Springs
Chez Sievers, Texas 2B Sr. Mission Viejo, Calif./Aliso Niguel
Desiree Williams, Texas SS So. Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells
Jamie Hinshaw, Texas A&M 3B So. Missouri City, Texas/Elkins
Amanda Scarborough, Texas A&M P So. Magnolia, Texas/Magnolia
ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
(Name, School, Pos. Cl., Hometown/Previous School)
Lisa Ferguson, Baylor P Jr. Fort Worth, Texas/Paschal
Tessa Lynam, Baylor DP Sr. Alpharetta, Ga./LSU
Brette Reagan, Baylor 3B Fr. Tomball, Texas/Tomball
Jennifer Bigbee, Iowa State 2B Jr. San Diego, Calif./Eastlake
Ashley Killeen, Iowa State C Jr. Papillion, Neb./LaVista
Amanda Renth, Missouri 1B So. Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah
Crystal Carwile, Nebraska INF Fr. Chino, Calif./Don Antonio Lugo
Devin Porter, Nebraska INF Jr. Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood
Jamie Waldecker, Nebraska C Jr. Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica
Traci Dickenson, Oklahoma 3B Fr. Placentia, Calif./El Dorado
Savannah Long, Oklahoma SS/2B So. Midwest City, Okla./Midwest City
Kim Kaye, Oklahoma State 1B So. San Diego, Calif./Palomar JC
Amber Hall, Texas OF Sr. Deer Park, Texas/Deer Park
Megan Willis, Texas C Jr. Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol
Megan Gibson, Texas A&M P/1B So. Spring, Texas/Spring
Sharonda McDonald, Texas A&M OF Jr. Houston, Texas/Dobie
Rocky Spencer, Texas A&M OF Sr. Katy, Texas/Taylor
Erin Crawford, Texas Tech P Sr. Leander, Texas/Leander
Ashley Parker, Texas Tech OF Jr. Lindale, Texas/Lindale
