OU Softball: Oklahoma Headlines 2024 All-Big 12 Selections

OU catcher Kinzie Hansen was named the 2024 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, and a league-leading nine Sooners earned All-Big 12 honors.

Oklahoma catcher Kinzie Hansen / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Oklahoma once again headlines the 2024 All-Big 12 selections that was announced on Wednesday. 

OU catcher Kinzie Hansen earned 2024 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, which was the first award for the senior this year after she closed 2023 as the Johnny Bench Award winner for Best College Softball Catcher.

A stone wall behind the plate, she threw out five of nine runners who tried to steal on her while only committing three errors in 44 appearances this season.

Kinzie Hansen became the ninth Sooner to win Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Hansen was joined by four other teammates on the All-Big 12 First Team. 

Jayda Coleman joined Hansen as unanimous selections, and Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito and Kelly Maxwell all earned places on the First Team. 

Hansen leads the Sooners with a .415 batting average, hammering eight home runs and driving in 28 runs while also drawing 14 walks and a 1.143 OPS.

Coleman again added fireworks at the plate to her show stopping performances in the outfield. 

The senior closed the regular season batting .397 with 11 home runs, 39 RBIs. Coleman also drew 43 walks while striking out just five times with a 1.226 OPS.

Jennings closed out her final regular season by leading OU with both 19 home runs and 56 RBIs as well as drawing 29 walks. 

She has a .365 batting average with a 1.263 OPS. 

Brito paced the Sooners with a 1.332 OPS, hitting .405 with 16 home runs, four doubles and 26 walks to pair with her excellent work in the field at third base. 

Third baseman Alyssa Brito paced the Sooners with four triples during the 2024 regular season. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Maxwell shined in the circle in her only season donning the Crimson and Cream. 

She led Oklahoma in innings pitched (106) and strikeouts (110), closing the regular season with a 16-2 record with a 1.98 ERA and holding opponents to a .177 batting average. 

Rylie Boone, Alynah Torres, Ella Parker and Kierston Deal all earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors. 

Boone is second on the team with a .413 batting average, driving in 22 RBIs with 10 doubles and a .456 on-base percentage. 

Platooning at second base, Torres finished the regular season with a .358 batting average, a team-leading 12 doubles, eight home runs and a 1.091 OPS. 

Parker, a freshman, became an immediate fixture in OU’s lineup in 2024. She hammered 10 home runs with a 1.208 OPS and a .388 batting average. Parker is third on the team with 47 RBIs, trailing Jennings and Brito. Parker also stole 15 bases, the highest total for an OU freshman since Coleman swiped 20 bags in 2021. 

Deal’s development was on full display throughout her sophomore season. The left-hander became Oklahoma’s first pitcher to notch back-to-back Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards since Giselle Juarez in 2019, closing out the regular season with a 1.53 ERA. Deal is second on the team in innings pitched (64), firing 60 strikeouts and only 15 walks while holding opponents to a .165 batting average. 

Parker was also named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team alongside Kasidi Pickering. 

Pickering batted .377 in the regular season with a 1.159 OPS while blasting seven home runs and eight doubles and drawing 33 walks. 

The Sooners will have a chance to pick up more hardware this weekend. 

Oklahoma will take the field as the 2-seed at the Big 12 Softball Tournament on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., and the Sooners will take on the winner of Wednesday’s contest between 7-seed Kansas and 10-seed Houston.

The entirety of the Big 12 Tournament will be held at the newly named Devon Park at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Sooners lost two of three at home to Oklahoma State last weekend and finished behind Texas in the standings, failing to win the Big 12 regular-season title after owning the league for 11 years in a row, but still should be considered a favorite in OKC.