The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Softball places six on All-Big 12 Teams
05.14.2013 | Softball
May 14, 2013
IRVING, Texas - The Texas Softball team, fresh off its selection as the No. 4 national seed to this year's NCAA Tournament, had six players earn a total of seven All-Big 12 honors Tuesday, according to a release from the conference office.
Seniors Taylor Hoagland and Blaire Luna and juniors Taylor Thom and Brejae Washington were All-Big 12 First Team selections while seniors Kim Bruins and Torie Schmidt were named to the second team. Washington also picked up All-Big 12 Defensive Team accolades.
Hoagland is a four-time All-Big 12 First Team selection. During the regular season, she led the conference with a league and Texas single-season record 64 walks. The Flower Mound, Texas, product topped the league with a .628 on-base percentage, stood second in batting average (.442) and runs scored (58), third in slugging percentage (.868), tied for sixth in home runs (13) and sixth in stolen bases (23) and total bases (112). In only league games, she hit .409 with 22 runs scored, 12 driven in and four home runs.
For the third time in her career, Luna earned an All-Big 12 First Team nod as she was a second-team honoree a year ago. As a senior, Luna paced the league with a 1.17 earned-run average during conference contests. She also topped the Big 12 with 11 conference wins, 149 strikeouts in league action and a .144 opponent batting average. With Sunday's victory against Baylor, she tied Cat Osterman's program record for victories against Big 12 opponents with 44.
Thom, the 2010 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, made her second appearance on the All-Big 12 First Team. During the regular season, the Cedar Park, Texas, native ranked third in the Big 12 Conference in runs batted in (55). She finished tied for fourth in runs scored (48), fifth in total bases (111), tied for fifth in doubles (13), seventh in stolen bases (20), hits (62) and total bases (111), eighth in slugging percentage (.685) and batting average (.383) and tied for eighth in home runs (12). In Big 12 games only, Thom lead the league with 23 hits while standing third in stolen bases (10) and RBI (16).
Center fielder Washington picked up a pair of honors, earning a spot on the league's top team for the first time in her career in addition to an all-defensive squad selection. The San Bernardino, Calif., product led the Big 12 Conference with five triples, ranked fourth in stolen bases with 28 and stood sixth with 63 hits. In Big 12 games only, she tied for the lead in hits (23), checked in fourth in steals (nine) and tied for fifth in runs scored (15).
Bruins received the first All-Big 12 honor of her career with a second-team nod. The Redlands, Calif., product finished second on the squad during league games with 14 runs batted in, tied for the fifth most in the Big 12. For the season, Bruins has recorded a career-high 48 hits and 36 RBI. Earlier this year, she earned her first career Big 12 Player of the Week honor after hitting .500 and driving in four runs against Baylor.
Schmidt joined Bruins on the Second Team for her second career Big 12 selection, after a first-team honor in 2012. In only Big 12 Conference contests, the Yorba Linda, Calif., native stood second in the league in stolen bases with 11 and sixth in hits with 21. During the second half of the season, she owns a team second-best .378 batting average (31-for-82) and a squad-high 31 hits.
All-Big 12 Teams and postseason honors are selected in a vote by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. This year, Oklahoma nabbed the most honorees of any institution with 11. Texas was next with seven selections, while Baylor tallied six. A total of four Kansas student-athletes were named to the squads, while Iowa State had three selected to the teams. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech rounded out the honorees with one representative each.
Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors while teammate Shelby Pendley was the Big 12 Player of the Year and the Sooners' head coach Patty Gasso received Big 12 Coach of the Year recognition. Baylor's Sarah Smith was tabbed as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. There are Co-Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year as the award will be shared by Baylor's Kathy Shelton and Kansas' Maggie Hull.
Texas returns to action on Friday, May 19 when it plays host to Army in its opening game at the NCAA Austin Regional. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. Central.
2013 All-Big 12 Teams
Coach of the Year
Patty Gasso, Oklahoma
Player of the Year
Shelby Pendley, Oklahoma, INF
Pitcher of the Year
Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma, LHP
Freshman of the Year
Sarah Smith, Baylor, INF
Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Kathy Shelton, Baylor, OF
Maggie Hull, Kansas, OF
All-Big 12 First Team
Whitney Canion, Baylor, Jr., P
Kathy Shelton, Baylor, Sr., OF
Erica Miller, Iowa State, Sr., 1B
Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma, So., 1B
Destinee Martinez, Oklahoma, Jr., OF
Shelby Pendley, Oklahoma, So., 3B
Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma, Sr., P
Brianna Turang, Oklahoma, Sr., OF
Taylor Hoagland, Texas, Sr., 3B
Blaire Luna, Texas, Sr., P
Taylor Thom, Texas, Jr., SS
Brejae Washington, Texas, Jr., OF
All-Big 12 Second Team
Sarah Smith, Baylor, Fr., 3B
Kaithlyn Thumann, Baylor, So., OF
Brittany Gomez, Iowa State, Fr., OF
Chaley Brickey, Kansas, Fr., SS
Maggie Hull, Kansas, Sr., OF
Kelsey Kessler, Kansas, Fr., P
Georgia Casey, Oklahoma, So., 2B
Michelle Gascoigne, Oklahoma, Sr., P
Tarah Ettinger, Oklahoma State, Jr., UT
Kim Bruins, Texas, Sr., P/UT
Torie Schmidt, Texas, Sr., OF
Mikey Kenney, Texas Tech, Sr., OF
All-Big 12 Defensive Team
Mariah Montgomery, Kansas Sr., 1B
Georgia Casey, Oklahoma, So., 2B
Lexi Slater, Iowa State, So., SS
Sarah Smith, Baylor, Fr., 3B
Kathy Shelton, Baylor, Sr., OF
Brianna Turang, Oklahoma, Sr., OF
Brejae Washington, Texas, Jr., OF
Jessica Shults, Oklahoma, Sr., C
Keilani Ricketts, Oklahoma, Sr., P
