Weekly Awards
Big 12 Players of the Week
Player: Xavier Perez, Houston
Pitcher: Ben Jacobs, Arizona State
Newcomer: Jack Martinez, Arizona State & Maximus Martin, Kansas State
League Notes
Arizona
Arizona has posted a perfect 9-0 record at home this season while outscoring their opponents 77-20. Arizona has hit 11 triples, which leads the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats pitching staff has issued only 34 walks in 16 games and posted an average of 2.22 free passes per nine innings pitched, which ranks second-best in Division I. Arizona's 4.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio currently ranks fourth best in the nation.
Arizona State
Ben Jacobs is the reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after he threw a perfect game through 17 batters in last Friday night's victory. Jacobs struck out six batters, allowed one hit, and did not allow a walk over six innings. It was the first quality start of the year for the Sun Devils. Jacob Tobias leads Arizona State with 20 RBI this season, which ranks 7th in the Big 12. Tobias has been among the Sun Devils best hitters with two outs, recording a .346 average. Tobias has also been Arizona State’s most productive outs, advancing runners with an out 12 times.
Baylor
The Bears open up conference play 13-3 overall and winners of five in a row. The Baylor pitching staff has a 2.79 team ERA, which ranks 7th in the nation and 2nd in the Big 12. The Bears bullpen has allowed just 18 earned runs over 76 1/3 innings of relief, good for a 2.12 ERA.
BYU
The weekend starters for BYU are 6-1 so far this season and have combined for 57 innings pitched in 12 starts. Payton Gubler is 3-1 and tied for third in the Big 12Â in wins. Gubler is holding opposing hitters to a .179 average, good for eighth in the Big 12. Gubler leads the BYU staff in innings pitched (24) and strikeouts (19). Jaden Harris is 1-0 with 15 2/3 innings pitched and 10 strikeouts over four starts. Garrison Sumner is 2-0 and has 11 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings and is holding opposing hitters to an average of .235.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati has won six straight games entering this weekend. The six games were also the first home games of the season for the Bearcats. Landyn Vidourek was outstanding over the six-game span hitting .500 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored. Teammates Cal Sefcik (.579) and Jack Natili (.565) also saw the ball well over the six games. Sefcik also walked six times and did not strike out once during the current win streak. The Bearcats hit .393 as a team and slugged .621 while the pitching staff registered a 2.60 ERA.
Houston
Xavier Perez, who won Big 12 Player of the Week honors this week, knocked in eight RBI in one game last week, which is fourth-most by any player in Division I in 2025. Connor McGinnis has hit nine doubles for Houston, which leads the Big 12 and is eighth nationally. Left-hander Antoine Jean is second in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings pitched with a 2.65.
Kansas
Brady Ballinger has led the way offensively for the Jayhawks. Ballinger has reached base safely and scored at least one run in all 17 games so far this season. Ballinger leads the Big 12 in hits (29), runs scored (27), and walks (22), while ranking second in batting average (.475), slugging percentage (.836), on-base percentage (.632), and total bases (51). Jackson Hauge leads the Big 12 in home runs (9), RBI (28) and total bases (53) and he is tied for eighth in the nation in home runs and tied for 14th in the nation in RBI.
Kansas State
Maximus Martin was named the Golden Spikes Award and Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week, as well as Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week. Martin is hitting .460 and leads the Wildcats with seven home runs and 23 RBI. The Wildcats are undefeated (8-0) when leading after the sixth inning.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 9-7 as conference play begins. Oklahoma State has a .280 team batting average and .480 team slugging percentage and are averaging just over eight runs per game. Colin Brueggemann leads the Cowboys with a .406 batting average and 25 RBI. The Oklahoma State pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA and leads the Big 12 in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.2.
TCU
The Horned Frogs enter the weekend riding a six-game win streak. TCU outscored its opponents 59-24 during that streak. Sawyer Strosnider led the Horned Frogs with a .619 average over those six games while driving in eight runs. Strosnider has a six-game hitting streak as the weekend opens.
Texas Tech
Outfielder Logan Hughes remains one of the toughest players in the country to strike out this season. Hughes enters the weekend ninth in the country among the hardest to strike out (2). After not recording a start of five innings or more over the first 10 games of the season, all three of the Red Raiders scheduled starters (Mac Heuer, Tyler Boudreau and Zane Petty) each pitched at least five innings last weekend at Grand Canyon.
UCF
UCF is currently on a seven-game winning streak as they travel to BYU. In those seven games, the Knights have won by a combined score of 94-14. The Knights have 10 players with at least 10 at-bats batting over .300. Edian Espinal leads UCF with a .524 batting average which ranks second in the nation. Espinal leads the team in runs scored with 21 and also ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage at .643. On the mound, Wiley Hartley leads the UCF rotation with a 3-0 record and a 1.25 ERA. Dominic Castellano leads the bullpen with a 3-0 record and 1.29 ERA and a team-best 21 strikeouts in 14 innings.
Utah
Core Jackson, the two-hole hitter for Utah, is riding an 11-game hitting streak. The Utah bats enter Big 12 play in the upper half of the league. Overall, the Utes are hitting .300 as a club, which ranks sixth. Utah has been keyed by 45 doubles, which leads the conference. Colter McAnelly struck out eight batters in his start last Friday before fellow right-hander Merit Jones tossed eight innings on Saturday and struck out six on the way to victory.
West Virginia
Brodie Kresser sustained a broken nose last weekend against Kennesaw State, but he was back in the lineup the next day and went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two stolen bases. Sam White is in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak for the Mountaineers. White is hitting .458 during the streak with two home runs, seven doubles, and 16 RBI.
Quoted
"A new season starts next weekend. The preseason is over. We put in the work, good job in the preseason, now a new one starts, and this one really matters." - BYU head coach Trent Pratt to his team after last weekend.
"Well, yeah, 16-0." - Baylor outfielder Ty Johnson when asked if he could have imagined a better start than Baylor's 13-3 record to open the season.
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