Sooners, Cowboys place seven each on Academic All-Big 12 Team
IRVING, Texas – Oklahoma State and Oklahoma each had seven players named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team announced Tuesday by the league office.
The Cowboys’ seven selections were tied for the most in the league with Baylor and Oklahoma and raised the program’s all-time total to a league-best 81 selections.
Oklahoma State had six first-team selections and one second-team pick. Junior Zach Bauchou (Entrepreneurship) was joined on the first team by sophomore Viktor Hovland (Undeclared), seniors Brendon Jelley (Finance), Stratton Nolen (Finance and Accounting) and Sam Stevens (Finance) as well as junior Hayden Wood (Finance).
Senior Kristoffer Ventura (Management) was named to the squad’s second team.
Jelley and Ventura were chosen for the third time in their careers, while Bauchou, Wood and Stevens were named to the team for the second time.
First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while the second-team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher, either cumulative or the two previous semesters, and must have participated in 20 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
For Oklahoma, senior Grant Hirschman (management), senior Rylee Reinertson (accounting), junior Brad Dalke (communication), junior Blaine Hale (management), junior Griffin Pierce (accounting), redshirt sophomore Thomas Johnson (communication) and sophomore Riley Casey (economics) earned first-team honors.
The first-team award is the third in a row for Hirschman, while Hale earned first-team status for the second straight year. The other five Sooners were recognized for the first time. From the 10 universities, 46 student-athletes were named to the first team, while five earned second-team selections.
The Sooners and Cowboys will begin postseason competition next week, April 23-25, at the Big 12 Championship in Tulsa, Okla., at Southern Hills Country Club.