The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 1 Baseball lands seven on Preseason All-Big 12 team
01.26.2022 | Baseball
Preseason Pitcher of the Year Pete Hansen leads a group of seven Longhorns on the preseason team.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 1 Texas Baseball left-handed pitcher Pete Hansen has been named the Big 12 Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year, joining six other Longhorns on the Preseason All-Big 12 team. The honorees were selected in a vote of the league's head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
Texas leads the Big 12 with seven of the 18 student-athletes on the Preseason All-Big 12 team, including two unanimous selections, Tristan Stevens and Ivan Melendez. This is the second-straight season that a Texas pitcher was named the league's preseason pitcher of the year, after Ty Madden received that recognition in 2021.
Catcher Silas Ardoin, infielders Mitchell Daly and Trey Faltine and closer Aaron Nixon also landed on the team.
Hansen led the Big 12 with a 1.88 ERA in 2021, posting a 9-1 record and striking out 80 batters in 91.0 innings. The left-handed starter from El Dorado Hills, California was a Freshman All-America according to the NCBWA and an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection in 2021.
Stevens led Texas with 11 wins last season, while compiling a 3.31 ERA in 111.1 innings pitched. Melendez led the team with a .319 batting average, a .603 slugging percentage and 13 homers in 2021.
Ardoin threw out 20 runners on the bases last season and batted .239 with nine doubles, one triple and one homer. Faltine, one of the best defensive shortstops in the country, batted .249 with 18 doubles and five homers last season. Daly was second on the team with a .316 batting average, starting 59 games at second base. Nixon led the Longhorns with nine saves and posted a 2.12 ERA in 27 outings.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Silas Ardoin, C, Texas
Peyton Graham, IF, Oklahoma
Brayden Taylor, IF, TCU*
Mitchell Daly, IF, Texas
Trey Faltine, IF, Texas
Jace Jung, IF, Texas Tech*
Jared McKenzie, OF, Baylor*
Dylan Phillips, OF, Kansas State
Austin Davis, OF, West Virginia
Ivan Melendez, DH, Texas*
Nolan McLean, Utility, Oklahoma State
Jake Thompson, Utility, Oklahoma State
Justin Campbell, SP/Utility, Oklahoma State*
Austin Krob, SP, TCU
Pete Hansen, SP, Texas
Tristan Stevens, SP, Texas*
Aaron Nixon, RP, Texas
Jacob Watters, RP, West Virginia
*- unanimous selection
Preseason Player of the Year
Jace Jung, IF, Texas Tech
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Pete Hansen, LHP, Texas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Victor Mederos, RHP, Oklahoma State
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Roc Riggio, IF/OF, Oklahoma State
