Two Wildcats Nominated for Major Big 12 Award

Arizona has two Wildcats nominated for major end of season Big 12 Award.

Jun 3, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Arizona Wildcats pitcher Devyn Netz (34) throws a pitch during the first inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the Oregon State Beavers at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Arizona won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 athletic year for Arizona has been overall a highly successful year despite the struggles of the football program and the deficit that faced the athletics department.

The basketball program was able to make a run to the Sweet Sixteen under coach Tommy Lloyd even after starting the year 4-5 in the non-conference.

And both the baseball and softball programs were able to make it to the postseason. Under Hale, the baseball program made it to the CWS ending a four-year drought.

Meanwhile, sports like tennis and golf had successful runs with individual athletes showing out for the university like men’s tennis star Colton Smith winning the 2025 ITA Division I Men’s National Player of the Year and the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.

During the 2025 season, Smith finished with a 23-2 record, which included a 16-0 mark in dual matches.

On the softball field, dual-threat athlete Devyn Netz posted an ERA of 2.25 (career-high)  winning 22 games in 152 ⅓ innings of work to go along with her 118 strikeouts.

But, that’s not all Netz did during the year. She was a monster at the plate batting .347 in 173 at-bats and smacked 19 home runs while driving in 68RBI on the year.

With the ability to pitch in the circle and get it done at the plate, Netz won the Big 12 Player of the Year Award and was named to the NFCA second-team All-American list. 

She became the first WIldcat to win a Player of the Year Award since the 2017 season when slugger Kaityana Mauga shared the award with Utah hitter Hannah Flippen.

The Big 12 conference has been announcing its nominees for the 2024-25 Athlete of the Year Award and both Netz and Smith are the two that have been nominated for the award.

Every team in the conference will have two athletes nominated for the award meaning over 32 athletes will have a chance of winning the honor.

However, given that Netz won the Big 12 Player of the Year in softball and Smith was the best tennis player in the conference, the duo will have a strong chance at one of them winning the award.

There will be other athletes from both of their sports nominated for the award, but the duo won the highest honors, which should separate them from those athletes.

Please be sure to let us know what you think of the chance that Smith, or Netz bring home the Big 12 award. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.