May 20, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Three Baylor baseball student-athletes were named honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference, the league office announced Tuesday. Sophomore third baseman Shaver Hansen, redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Shawn Tolleson and junior shortstop Beamer Weems were so honored.
Texas A&M shortstop Jose Duran was named Player and Newcomer of the Year. Missouri right-handed pitcher Aaron Crow earned Pitcher of the Year honors, while Texas right-handed pitcher Chance Ruffin was selected Freshman of the Year. Texas A&M's Rob Childress was named Coach of the Year after leading the Aggies to the regular-season Big 12 title with 19-8 league record that included a conference-record 16-game winning streak.
Hansen, a product of Fruita Monument High School in Grand Junction, Colo., hit .314 with six home runs and 42 RBI this season. He leads the team in runs (44) and triples (5), and he is tied for the team lead in walks (30). Hansen also ranks second on the team in hits (66), total bases (110), slugging percentage (.524) and on base percentage (.402), and he is tied for second in doubles (16) and RBI.
Tolleson, a product of Allen [Texas] High School, is 5-4 on the season with a 5.00 ERA in 13 appearances, all starts. He has recorded 61 strikeouts in 72.0 innings, while holding opponents to a .262 average. Tolleson joined Kyle Evans as the only Baylor pitchers to record multiple shutouts in Big 12 play, tossing a two-hit shutout against Oklahoma State and a three-hit shutout at Kansas State. His other wins were against Kansas, at Mississippi State and at Texas.
Weems earned all-conference honors for the third consecutive season, joining Wayne Connolly (1954-1956) as the only Baylor shortstops to accomplish the feat. Widely regarded as one of the nation's top defensive shortstops, Weems hit .270 with seven home runs and 30 RBI this season. He also collected 53 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, 39 runs and shared the team lead with 30 walks.
Sixth-seeded Baylor begins play in the 2008 Big 12 Conference Championship at 4 p.m. CDT against third-seeded Nebraska. Tolleson will get the start on the mound for the Bears opposite Nebraska southpaw Dan Jennings.
