After being snubbed in the preseason, TCU baseball leads league with All-Big 12 honors
TCU baseball didn’t have any player land on the Big 12’s preseason team. That changed when postseason awards were announced on Monday.
TCU had the most All-Big 12 first- and second-team selections of any team with seven. The biggest honor went to third baseman Brayden Taylor, who earned freshman of the year honors. The awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Texas Tech’s Jace Jung was named the league’s player of the year; Oklahoma State’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand earned newcomer of the year; Texas right-hander Ty Madden was pitcher of the year; and Texas’ David Pierce was the conference’s coach of the year.
As far as TCU is concerned, Taylor is a worthy recipient of the league’s freshman of the year award. He is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and is second with a .579 slugging percentage. In the Big 12, Taylor is tied for eighth in stolen bases (11), eighth in plate appearances (232), 10th in on-base percentage (.435) and tied for 10th in RBIs (46).
Taylor is the program’s third player to earn freshman of the year honors along with Connor Wanhanen (2015) and Luken Baker (2016).
“He’s a special player,” TCU senior catcher Zach Humphreys said of Taylor. “It was very evident when he showed up on campus in the fall that this guy was good. The most impressive thing is his knowledge of the game and his maturity. He doesn’t panic or press.
“I think he has a very bright career ahead of him. He’s going to be a special player for a long time.”
Along with Taylor, other players honored were left-hander Haylen Green and outfielder Phillip Sikes being named to the All-Big 12 first team. Second-team honors went to left-handed starters Austin Krob and Russell Smith as well as position players Hunter Wolfe and Gene Wood.
Humphreys and second baseman Gray Rodgers were honorable mention, while Elijah Nunez, River Ridings and Taylor were selected to the freshmen team.
TCU (36-16, 17-7 Big 12) won a share of the Big 12 regular-season title along with Texas. The Frogs are scheduled to open the Big 12 tournament against Kansas State at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
TCU freshman right-hander Jacob Meador is expected to start Wednesday.
