Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma baseball: Brylie Ware named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year

By Chip Rouse

Nov 12, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Members of the Oklahoma Sooners spirit squad celebrate a touchdown against the Baylor Bears during the third quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Members of the Oklahoma Sooners spirit squad celebrate a touchdown against the Baylor Bears during the third quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Oklahoma baseball players Brylie Ware and Steele Walker have been named First Team All-Big 12 for the 2017 season, and Ware was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year in a vote of the conference coaches.

Ware shared the Newcomer award with Montana Parsons, a pitcher for Baylor. The sophomore from Sedgwick, Kan., has played at the corner infield spots and as designated hitter for the Sooners this season. He hit .316 in the regular season, with an on-base percentage of .405 and slugging percentage of .460. He has scored 34 runs and has five home runs, all hit in the last nine games. He played his freshman season at Neosho (Kan.) Community College before transferring to OU.

Ware is the third Oklahoma player in the Big 12 era to be named Newcomer of the Year. Greg Dobbs won the award in 2001, and Ole Sheldon received the honor in 2004.

Walker, a sophomore center fielder from Prosper, Texas, leads the Sooners in hitting this season. His .341 batting average is sixth in the Big 12, and he is the only player in the conference to rank in the top five in hits (70), runs (48), doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.561).

Sooner shortstop Brandon Zaragoza was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team.

Two other Sooners – senior catcher Renae Martinez and senior relief pitcher JB Olson – were named the All-Big 12 Second Team.

Five Oklahoma players were honored as Big 12 Honorable Mention: senior first baseman Austin O’Brien, senior right fielder Ben Hollas, junior pitcher Devon Perez, and sophomore pitchers Jake Irvin and Connor Berry.

In all, 10 Oklahoma players received All-Big 12 baseball awards for the 2017 season. That is the most by the Sooners in the 21-year history of the Big 12.

Steve Rodriguez, in his second season at Baylor, was named Big 12 Coach of the Year; Evan Skoug of TCU and Hunter Hargrove of Texas Tech were named Co-Player of the Year; Steven Gregory of Texas Tech is Pitcher of the Year, and Texas Tech’s Josh Jung is Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Texas Tech and TCU each placed four players on the All-Big 12 First Team to lead all conference schools.

Home/OU Baseball