Adrian Alaniz Big 12 Pitcher of the Year

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Adrian Alaniz Big 12 Pitcher of the Year

05/22/2007

Baseball sweeps Big 12 postseason awards

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Texas standout Kyle Russell has been named Big 12 Player of the Year, while the Pitcher of the Year accolade went to teammate, Adrian Alaniz and Augie Garrido was named a Co-Coach of the Year the league announced on Tuesday.

Russell's dream season continued with his selection as Player of the Year. He has already shattered the Texas single-season home run record. He leads the nation with 27 home runs and ranks second with a .854 slugging percentage. Russell is batting .348 with 60 runs and 68 RBI on the season. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors on two occasions and was selected as one of 16 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, honoring the top player in college baseball, by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and one of 50 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, honoring the top amateur baseball player, by USA Baseball.

Russell became the second Longhorn to earn Big 12 Player of the Year accolades, joining Drew Stubbs in 2006.

Alaniz is 12-2 with a 2.47 ERA. The junior right-hander was twice named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and shares the team lead with 83 strikeouts. He was selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Roger Clemens Award, honoring the top pitcher in college baseball, by the Greater Houston Baseball Association. Alaniz was also tabbed first-team All-Big 12, adding to the All-Big 12 honorable mention he garnered in 2005.

Alaniz became UT's fourth Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, joining Justin Simmons (2002), J.P. Howell (2004) and Kyle McCulloch (2006).

Garrido led Texas to a 42-14 record (21-6 Big 12) and its fourth Big 12 regular season title, second in a row, in his 11th season at UT. This marks Garrido's second straight Big 12 Coach of the Year honor and third overall (2002, 2006, 2007). This season he became the first NCAA Division I coach to ever post 1,600 career wins.

The All-Big 12 honors are selected by the league's head coaches. Texas placed a conference-leading seven players on the all-conference squads. First baseman Chance Wheeless, third baseman Bradley Suttle, catcher Preston Clark joined Alaniz and Russell on the All-Big 12 First Team. The Longhorns' second-team selections include starting pitcher James Russell and relief pitcher Randy Boone.

Wheeless earned first-team honors for the second consecutive season. He leads the team with a .356 batting average and has 48 runs, 14 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 32 RBI on the year. Wheeless is widely considered one of the best defensive first basemen in the nation and he owns a .987 fielding percentage. This season he moved seventh place on UT's all-time games played list with 210 and fourth in games started with 189.

Suttle picked up his first All-Big 12 honor. He is hitting .355 with 43 runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 57 RBI. The top defensive third baseman in the Big 12, Suttle sports a .972 fielding percentage with just four errors at the hot corner.

Like Wheeless and Suttle, Clark is as renowned for his defense as he is for his offense. He has picked off six runners and thrown out 10 of 48 attempted base stealers. Clark leads the team with 17 doubles and ranks third with 43 RBI and seven home runs. He is batting .295 and ranks fourth on the squad with a .505 slugging percentage.

Boone, an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2005, emerged as one of the leagues top closers in 2007. He leads the conference with 12 saves and owns a 4.6 record with a 2.45 ERA. Boone has 59 strikeouts in 62.1 innings and opponents are hitting a miniscule .228 off the right-hander.

James Russell is 8-3 with a 3.66 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 96 innings. The junior owns a 5-1 record with 48 strikeouts in nine conference starts.

Three Longhorns were listed as All-Big 12 honorable mention, including outfielder Jordan Danks, designated hitter Russell Moldenhauer and second baseman Travis Tucker. Danks is hitting .324 with 53 runs, 15 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Moldenhauer is batting .294 with seven doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI. Tucker is hitting .301 with 40 runs, 33 RBI and 19 stolen bases. The Horns kick off play in the Big 12 Baseball Championship on Wednesday, May 23 when they face Kansas State at 1 p.m.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kyle Russell, Texas, OF, So., Tomball, Texas/Tomball

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:Adrian Alaniz, Texas, RHP, Jr., Sinton, Texas/Sinton

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Trevor Coleman, Missouri, C, Fr., Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs

CO-NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR: David Newmann, Texas A&M, LHP, Jr., Houston, Texas/San Jacinto JC; Brandon Hicks, Texas A&M, INF, Jr., Houston, Texas/San Jacinto JC

CO-COACH OF THE YEAR: Tim Jamieson, Missouri; Augie Garrido, Texas

ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM

Name, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/Previous School

Chance Wheeless, Texas 1B Jr. Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock

Tyler Mach, Oklahoma State 2B Sr. Kent, Wash./Edmonds CC

Beamer Weems, Baylor SS So. Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne

Bradley Suttle, Texas 3B So. Boerne, Texas/Boerne

Preston Clark, Texas C So. Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall

Corey Brown, Oklahoma State OF Jr. Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant

Ty Wright, Oklahoma State OF Sr. Tyler, Texas/Willis Point

Kyle Russell, Texas OF So. Tomball, Texas/Tomball

Jacob Priday, Missouri DH Jr. Sikeston, Mo./Sikeston

Luke Anders, Texas A&M DH So. College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated

Blake Stouffer, Texas A&M UTL Jr. San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights

Aaron Crow, Missouri RHP So. Wakarusa, Kan./Washburn Rural

Adrian Alaniz, Texas RHP Jr. Sinton, Texas/Sinton

Kyle Nicholson, Texas A&M RHP Sr. College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated

Daniel Edwards, Kansas State RP Jr. Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood

ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM

Name, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/Previous School

Rebel Ridling, Oklahoma State 1B Jr. Sentinel, Okla./Midland JC

Parker Dalton, Texas A&M 2B Sr. Houston, Texas/Memorial

Brandon Hicks, Texas A&M SS Jr. Houston, Texas/San Jacinto College

Matt Mangini, Oklahoma State 3B Jr. Cary, N.C./North Carolina State

Jackson Williams, Oklahoma C Jr. Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow

Byron Wiley, Kansas State OF So. Tomball, Texas/Tomball

Evan Frey, Missouri OF Jr. Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville

Roger Kieschnick, Texas Tech OF So. Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall

Jeff Tezak, Nebraska DH Jr. Poway, Calif./Palomar CC

Jordy Mercer, Oklahoma State UTL So. Taloga, Okla./Taloga

Tony Watson, Nebraska LHP Jr. Grimes, Iowa/Dallas-Center Grimes

Stephen Porlier, Oklahoma RHP So. Sugarland, Texas/Tulane

James Russell, Texas LHP Jr. Colleyville, Texas/Navarro College

Randy Boone, Texas RP Sr. Yoakum, Texas/Yoakun

HONORABLE MENTION

RP Justin Friend, Oklahoma State; RP Paul Smyth, Kansas; RP Kyle Gibson, Missouri; RP Nick Cassavechia, Baylor; P Luke Wertz, Nebraska; P Johnny Dorn, Nebraska; P Brad Hutt, Kansas State; P Rick Zagone, Missouri; P David Newmann, Texas A&M; P Heath Taylor, Oklahoma; P Kendal Volz, Baylor; OF Joe Dunigan, Oklahoma; OF Aaron Ivey, Oklahoma; OF Keanon Simon, Oklahoma State; OF Jordan Danks, Texas; OF Ben Feltner, Texas A&M; OF John Allman, Kansas, OF Kyle Murphy, Kansas; OF Ben Booker, Baylor; DH Russell Moldenhauer, Texas; C Buck Afenir, Kansas; C Craig Stinson, Texas A&M; C Matt Czimskey, Baylor; C Matt Smith, Texas Tech; C Mitch Abeita, Nebraska; 2B Travis Tucker, Texas; 2B Ryne Price, Kansas; 3B Robby Price, Kansas, 3B Craig Corriston, Nebraska; 3B Kyle Mach, Missouri; 3B Raynor Campbell, Baylor; SS Aaron Reza, Oklahoma; SS Jordy Mercer, Oklahoma State; SS Kyle Martin, Texas Tech; UTL Joseph Hughes, Oklahoma; 1B Andrew Brown, Nebraska; 1B Aaron Baker, Oklahoma; 1B James Leverton, Texas Tech