May 19, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY - Four Baylor baseball student-athletes earned all-Big 12 Conference honors, the league office announced Tuesday. Dustin Dickerson and Shaver Hansen earned first-team honors, while Aaron Miller was named second team. Kendal Volz earned honorable mention.
Oklahoma catcher J.T. Wise was named Big 12 Player of the Year, while Kansas State right-hander A.J. Morris was selected as Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Other individual awards went to Oklahoma third baseman Garrett Buechele (freshman of the year) and Kansas shortstop David Narodowski (newcomer of the year). Kansas State's Brad Hill was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Dickerson and Hansen are the first Bears to earn first-team all-league honors since Beamer Weems was so honored in 2007. This is the first time Baylor has garnered multiple first-team honors since three Bears were first-team selections in 2005. Hansen and Volz earned all-conference honors for the second times in their careers; Dickerson and Miller were first-time honorees.
Baylor players have earned 80 all-conference honors in the 13-year history of the Big 12. Dickerson and Hansen produced Baylor's 27th and 28th first-team all-Big 12 honors.
A product of Waco's Midway High School, Dickerson ranks second in the Big 12 with a .373 batting average. He also has 10 home runs, 36 RBI and 14 doubles. Dickerson has hit safely in 34 of the last 35 games, including a current 10-game hitting streak. His 24-game streak earlier this year was the longest in the Big 12 this season, tied for the seventh-longest in Big 12 history and the third-longest in Baylor history.
Hansen, who earned honorable mention honors last season, ranks third in the Big 12 with 15 home runs, a Baylor single-season record for a shortstop and tied for the seventh-best season by any Baylor player. The Grand Junction, Colo., native is hitting .325 with 12 doubles and a team-high 50 RBI.
Miller became the first Baylor player in five years to hit 10-plus home runs in consecutive seasons. He is hitting .335 with 11 home runs, 43 RBI and 11 doubles. Miller also posted a 3-3 record on the mound with a 5.28 ERA and two saves. The Channelview, Texas, native logged 49 strikeouts over 34.0 innings in league play, leading the conference with 12.97 strikeouts per nine innings.
Volz, an honorable mention selection in 2007, posted a 3-6 record with a 4.62 ERA. The Bulverde, Texas, native logged 72 strikeouts over 78.0 innings. Volz ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 59 strikeouts in league play.
Baylor begins play in the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a pool-play game Wednesday against fifth-ranked Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CDT at Bricktown Ballpark. Freshman right-hander Logan Verrett (7-1, 4.50 ERA) has been announced as the Bears' starter for the Texas game.
2009 ALL-BIG 12 CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team
IF Shaver Hansen, BAYLOR Jr.
IF Tony Thompson, Kansas So.
IF Bryant Hernandez, Oklahoma Jr.
IF Brodie Greene, Texas A&M Jr.
IF Chris Richburg, Texas Tech Sr.
C J.T. Wise, Oklahoma Sr.
OF Greg Folgia, Missouri Jr.
OF Jamie Johnson, Oklahoma Jr.
OF Michael Dabbs, Oklahoma State Sr.
DH Dustin Dickerson, BAYLOR Jr.
UTL Brooks Raley, Texas A&M So.
SP A.J. Morris, Kansas State Jr.
SP Kyle Gibson, Missouri Jr.
SP Chance Ruffin, Texas So.
RP Austin Wood, Texas Sr.
Second Team
IF Carter Jurica, Kansas State So.
IF Aaron Baker, Oklahoma Jr.
IF Garrett Buechele, Oklahoma Fr.
IF Willie Rueda, Texas Tech Sr.
C Buck Afenir, Kansas Sr.
OF Brian Heere, Kansas So.
OF Neil Medchill, Oklahoma State Jr.
OF Connor Rowe, Texas So.
DH Joe Patterson, Texas A&M Jr.
UTL Aaron Miller, BAYLOR Jr.
SP T.J. Walz, Kansas So.
SP Andrew Doyle, Oklahoma Jr.
SP Tyler Blandford, Oklahoma State Jr.
RP Ryan Duke, Oklahoma So.
Honorable Mention
Baylor: Kendal Volz, SP; Kansas: Shaeffer Hall, SP; Robbie Price, IF; Paul Smyth, RP; Kansas State: Drew Biery, IF; Justin Bloxom, IF; Jordan Cruz, OF; Jason King, IF; Nick Martini, OF; Missouri: Tyler Coleman, C; Kyle Mach, IF; Aaron Senne, OF; Nebraska: Tyler Farst, IF; Oklahoma State: Kevin David, C; Tyrone Hambly, IF; Tyler Lyons, SP; Texas: Brandon Belt, IF; Kevin Keyes, OF; Brandon Loy, IF; Cameron Rupp, C; Michael Torres, IF; Texas A&M: Luke Anders, IF; Kyle Colligan, OF; Kevin Gonzalez, C; Ross Hales, SP; Alex Wilson, RP; Texas Tech: Taylor Ashby, OF; Chad Bettis, RP; Joey Kentworthy, IF; Scott LeJeune, DH.
