OU Baseball: Oklahoma Players Reel In Big 12 Accolades

A total of 12 Oklahoma Sooners earned recognition from the Big 12 Conference on Monday as the league handed out baseball accolades and All-Big 12 honors.

Selections were made by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

After OU coach Skip Johnson was named the program’s first Big 12 baseball coach of the year, honors rolled in for multiple OU players.

Senior infielder Michael Snyder, sophomore designated hitter Easton Carmichael and sophomore pitcher Braden Davis earned All-Big 12 First Team honors, while senior outfielder Bryce Madron and sophomore pitcher Kyson Witherspoon were named to the second team. Shortstop Jaxon Willits was selected to the All-Freshman Team and six Sooners earned honorable mention recognition.

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Snyder started all 52 regular season games for OU in the infield and led the conference in league play with a .408 batting average, 14 doubles and 91 total bases. The graduate transfer also ranked in the top five in conference play in hits (49), RBIs (34), stolen bases (10), runs scored (35) and on-base (.492) and slugging (.758) clips. On the year, Snyder hit .354 with 10 home runs, a team-best 22 doubles and 53 RBIs.

Carmichael played in all 52 games, starting 51, and led the Big 12 in conference play with 52 hits, 39 RBIs and four triples. The sophomore designated hitter/catcher ranked in the top five in league competition with 37 runs scored, 10 doubles, 85 total bases and eight stolen bags. Carmichael hit .363 overall with six home runs, 17 doubles and a team-high 59 RBIs.

OU’s Friday night starter, left-handed junior Braden Davis, paced the Big 12 with a 7-1 record in conference play, closing the regular season with six straight wins. The two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week ranked third in conference play in strikeouts (76), fifth in innings pitched (59.2), sixth in opponent batting average (.195) and 10th in ERA (3.77). Overall, Davis leads OU with 98 strikeouts to go with a 4.81 ERA, 38 walks and an 8-3 record. The junior combined on one no-hitter and three shutouts in 2024.

Madron, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2023, led the Big 12 in all games with 65 runs scored and ranked in the top 10 in conference play with 38 runs scored, 33 RBIs, 71 total bases, .634 slugging percentage and eight stolen bases. The senior leads OU with 11 home runs, 14 stolen bags and 39 walks drawn, to accompany 16 doubles, three triples and 48 runs batted in. The everyday right fielder was perfect in the field, making 106 putouts and five assists with numerous highlight-reel catches.

Witherspoon took advantage of his Saturday starter role after being inserted into the rotation a month into the season. The sophomore righty ranked third in Big 12 play with six wins and a 6-1 record and ranked seventh with 57 K’s in league competition. Overall, Witherspoon leads the OU arms with a 4.24 ERA to go with a 7-3 record and 75 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched.

Willits was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team after hitting .341 in conference play, good for sixth in the league. The first-year Sooner has eight home runs on the year, with all eight coming in conference play. Moreover, all eight homers have come since April 5. He ranked seventh in Big 12 competition with a .670 slugging clip. The Sooner shortstop started 45 of OU’s 52 regular season games, registering a .959 fielding percentage with 105 assists and 57 putouts to seven errors, also turning 18 double plays on the year.

Six Sooners were named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention: senior relief pitcher Carter Campbell, senior utility Anthony Mackenzie, junior catcher Scott Mudler, junior infielder Jackson Nicklaus, junior outfielder John Spikerman and freshman infielder Willits.

OU’s three first-team nods ranked second in the conference, and the Sooners’ five honors across the first and second teams tied for the third-most in program history.

Oklahoma shifts its focus to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, this week, May 21-25. OU’s opening contest is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and can be seen on Big 12 NOW on ESPN. The top-seeded Sooners receive a first-round bye and will face for the lowest-seeded winner out of the two games between the No. 4 vs. No. 9 and No. 6 vs. No. 7 seeds.

OU is looking for its second Big 12 tournament title in the past three years and fourth overall, previously winning the conference tourney in 1997, 2013 and 2022.

OU Media Relations contributed to this report.