top of page

Big 12 Notebook: February 28, 2025

Writer's picture: Steve ParkhurstSteve Parkhurst



Weekly Awards

Big 12 Players of the Week

Player: Nu'u Contrades, Arizona State & Cooper Vest, BYU

Pitcher: Colter McAnelly, Utah

Newcomer: Mathis Meurant, Arizona & Lincoln Sheffield, Kansas State


League Notes

Arizona

Brendan Summerhill and Maddox Mihalakis both have five-game hitting streaks going into the weekend. Both players have a hit in each game of Arizona's current five-game win streak; Mihalakis is hitting .400 with two doubles and a triple during the streak, while Summerhill is hitting .391 with one double, three triples, and seven RBI during that same stretch. Summerhill and Aaron Walton lead the Wildcats with eight-game on-base streaks, having reached base safely in all eight games to open the season.


Arizona State

Brandon Compton is third in the nation with 15 walks on the season while he also leads the Sun Devils in batting average at .360. This has all contributed to Compton's .571 OBP, which is 8th in the Big 12. On the bump, Ben Jacobs has a 8.00 strikeout to walk ratio to start the season, the fifth-best tally in the Big 12. Sixteen total strikeouts by Jacobs this year are second in the league and ranks 38th nationally.


Baylor

Baylor is off to a 7-1 start to open the season. This is Baylor's best since 2019 and just the fourth time since 1995 that the Bears have opened the year 7-1 or better. Baylor won their only midweek game this week which is its seventh-straight midweek win dating back to last season.


BYU

BYU first baseman Copper Vest was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Week for his performance against UCLA and CSUN. Vest has started 97 straight games for the Cougars over the past three seasons. Over four games, Vest hit .438 with a 1.188 slugging percentage. Bryker Hurdsman is also off to a great start, leading BYU in batting average (.393), hits (11), runs (9), and stolen bases (3). Hurdsman also has five walks, two doubles, a home run, and three runs driven in.


Cincinnati

Right-hander Nathan Taylor turned in one of the best outings of his career last weekend against UNLV in Las Vegas, striking out 11 in six scoreless innings. Taylor had at least two strikeouts in each of the first three innings. All three of the losses by the Bearcats this season have been by only one run.


Houston

Connor McGinnis is off to a hot start in 2025 with three multi-hit games and with home runs in back-to-back games. McGinnis' three home runs is the fourth-most nationally. Right-hander Richie Roman was named the #67 sophomore nationally by Perfect Game and has started 2025 with a nation-leading five saves in as many opportunities without allowing an earned run. Left-hander Antoine Jean leads the Big 12 in hits allowed per nine innings (2.57) which ranks 36th nationally.


Kansas

The Jayhawks open play this weekend with a 7-0 record. Brady Ballinger and  Dariel Osoria have both gotten off to a strong start by hitting safely in all seven games this season. Ballinger leads Kansas in batting average (.440), slugging percentage (.840), on-base percentage (.588), and runs scored (10). Osoria leads the Jayhawks in hits (12) and RBI (12), the 12 RBI are tied for the most in the Big 12.


Kansas State

Kansas State outscored its opponents 18-5 in the three-day Amegy Bank College Baseball Series last weekend . The Wildcats racked up 26 base hits and played clean defense, committing no errors. The pitching staff had a 1.67 era, holding opponents to a .186 average and combining for 30 strikeouts over 27 innings. The Wildcats pounded out a tournament-high 12 hits against TCU (in a non-Big 12 game).


Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have won three straight as they get ready to play in the Astros Foundation College Classic this weekend. Oklahoma State has a .324 team batting average and a .526 slugging percentage. Nolan Schubart ranks fifth in the Big 12 with a .440 batting average and a .588 on-base percentage.


TCU

The Horned Frogs have four come-from-behind victories in the early going, three of which have been rallies from behind by multiple runs. TCU has hit 13 home runs on the season which ranks third in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs used five pitchers Tuesday night in their midweek contest, four of the pitchers were freshmen.


Texas Tech

TJ Pompey leads Texas Tech in home runs (4), hits (9), on-bast percentage (.480), slugging percentage (1.000), and runs scored (8). While leading the Red Raiders offense, Pompey is also a co-leader in the Big 12 in home runs and leads the Big 12 in slugging percentage (1.000).


UCF

The UCF bullpen has been great to start the season. To date, the group of 11 Knights pitchers have a combined 38 innings pitched, in which they have an ERA of 1.89, a 3-1 record, 54 strikeouts, allowing just 23 hits (for a .174 batting average), and eight earned runs. Five pitchers currently have an ERA of 0,00 and two of them, Carter Stanford and James Lordi, have yet to give up a base hit.


Utah

Utah enters this weekend with a team batting average of .308, which ranks fourth in the Big 12. The 25 doubles by the Utes leads the Big 12 and ranks 7th in the nation. Utah has pushed across 59 runs with opponents only scoring 21 runs to this point. On the mound, the Utah pitching staff has an ERA of 2.50 through eight games. The Utes rank third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally in ERA.


West Virginia

West Virginia enters the weekend 8-0, the best start for the Mountaineers since they opened the 1964 season 18-0. Grant Hussey hit his first home run of the season earlier in the week. The blast was Hussey's 38th of his career, extending his all-time program record. Logan Sauve added three hits and two RBI while senior Kyle West had two hits and two RBI in the midweek matchup.


Quoted

"Our job is to be great today, in the event we get to do it again tomorrow, because we're really not promised anything." - Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald


"Ultimately, we're never going to feel good about winning two ball games, no matter who it's against, in a four-game series." - Cincinnati head coach Jordan Bishel


"This game is real humbling." - Utah infielder Austen Roellig


 

Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on X and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

bottom of page