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Sooner softball: Oklahoma takes four of the five top All-Big 12 awards

By Chip Rouse

Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cheerleader performs during a timeout from the game against the Texas Longhorns during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cheerleader performs during a timeout from the game against the Texas Longhorns during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Three Oklahoma Sooner softball players and the head coach walked away with top individual awards as 2017 All-Big 12 honors were announced on Wednesday.

Head coach Patty Gasso, in her 23rd season at Oklahoma, was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the 10th time in her career. Gasso led the Sooners to a 17-1 conference record this season and their sixth consecutive conference crown and 10th in the Big 12 era.

OU Sophomore first baseman Shay Knighton is Big 12 Player of the Year, junior Paige Parker is Pitcher of the Year, and utility player Nicole Mendes of the Sooners is Freshman of the Year.

This is the third consecutive year Parker has won the Pitcher of the Year award. That ties former Texas Longhorn Cat Osterman as the only players in the Big 12 era to win the award in their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. Parker is 18-5 this season and is a perfect 8-0 in the Big 12 with an earned-run average of 0.86 against conference opponents.

Knighton led the Big 12 this season in conference games with eight home runs, 27 runs batted in, 54 total bases and a 1.115 slugging percentage. She is the fourth sophomore in the Big 12 era to be named Player of the Year. Knighton is the 10th Oklahoma Sooner to win the award and the seventh in the last nine years.

Mendes tied for the conference lead in runs scored (21), hits (28) and was second in hitting, batting .444 in conference games. She is the sixth Sooner to be named Freshman of the Year in the Big 12.

Oklahoma also placed four players (Knighton, Mendes, Parker and pitcher Paige Lowary) on the All-Big 12 First Team. Four more Sooners were named to the second team: sophomore outfielder Fale Aviu, sophomore second baseman Caleigh Clifton, junior outfielder Nicole Pendley and sophomore third baseman Sydney Romero.

The Sooners are in excellent shape for another title defense next season. Five of the eight OU players named first- or second-team All-Big 12 will be juniors or below next season.

Baylor outfielder Jessie Scoggins was named Defensive Player of the Year in the conference for 2017. She is joined on the All-Big 12 First Team by three of her teammates. Baylor tied Oklahoma with four players each on the first team.

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