Texas Longhorns Softball Makes History with All-Big 12 Honorees

Texas Longhorns' softball freshman had quite the season. On Wednesday, they were recognized.

When the Big 12 released its postseason awards on Wednesday, the Texas Longhorns softball program's freshmen made quite a dent in player recognition for their performances. 

Freshmen catcher and first baseman Reese Atwood, shortstop and second baseman Leighann Goode, right-handed pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez, outfielder Ashton Maloney, and shortstop and second baseman Viviana Martinez made up half of the league's All-Big 12 Freshman Team that consists of 10 student-athletes.

Goode was the leader of All-Big 12 freshmen this year with 63 hits to end the regular season. Atwood earned the title of the most home runs (11) by any freshman in the conference. Maloney's .389 batting average stood out as the eighth-highest percentage in the conference. The 47 RBI by Martinez set Texas' single-season program record by a freshman student-athlete.

Since the establishment of the All-Big 12 Freshman Team in 2015, the Longhorns' five stand-out players made history this year with the most student-athletes selected to the freshman team.

As far as the All-Big 12 Second Team honorees, Texas also claimed five student-athletes who were selected: Atwood, Goode, Gutierrez, Maloney, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Mac Morgan. Texas was the only program in its conference to have four freshmen allotted to either the All-Big 12 First or Second Team.

For the first time since 2012, Texas marked the most Longhorns selected to either the first or second team with their five student-athletes designated to the All-Big 12 Second Team. 

Sophomore infielder Mia Scott was the only Longhorn named to the All-Big 12 First Team. This recognition marks the 15th consecutive season that a Texas student-athlete has been selected to the top team. With 68 hits, the second most in the league, and a .393 batting percentage, Scott clearly made a positive impact on Texas' season.

The Big 12 Conference Tournament for Texas will begin on Thursday, May 11, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when the Longhorns face the Red Raiders at 12:30 p.m.

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You can follow Tori Garcia on Twitter @ToriCGarcia

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