West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt was named Preseason Player of the Year to highlight the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Baseball Awards. Texas’ Lebarron Johnson Jr. was Preseason Pitcher of the Year while TCU two-way player Payton Tolle was named Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Texas outfielder Will Gasparino was tabbed Preseason Freshman of the Year.
Wetherholt was the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2023, earning unanimous All-America honors as he won the Division I batting title with a .449 average. The Mars, Pennsylvania native had 42 extra-base hits, including 16 home runs, and stole 36 bases in his sophomore season. The infielder who bats from the left side is projected as the nation’s top draft-eligible prospect by several publications and was named an Academic All-American by College Sports Communicators.
Johnson Jr. was picked a 2023 second team All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection after working his way into the weekend rotation. The righty from Jacksonville, Florida finished the season with an 8-4 record and a 2.91 earned run average, highlighted by a one-run shutout in the second game of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional. The economics major held opponents to a .231 batting average in his redshirt sophomore season, and his 86.2 innings pitched ranked fourth in the Big 12.
Tolle was a unanimous All-American in 2023 and was named a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year while at Wichita State. The two-time AAC All-Academic Team selection posted a 9-3 record on the mound for the Shockers a season ago, posting eight quality starts. At the dish, the Yukon, Oklahoma native hit .311 with 13 home runs, splitting time at first base and DH when not pitching.
Gasparino, a right-handed outfielder from Los Angeles, was rated as one of the top 75 prospects in the Major League Baseball Draft before eschewing professional ball to play in Austin. He helped Harvard-Westlake High School, a program that has produced MLB stars such as Max Fried, Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty, to a CIF State Championship in 2021.
In addition to Wetherholt and Johnson Jr., Texas Tech infielder Gavin Kash, Oklahoma State outfielder Nolan Schubart, TCU starter Kole Klecker and Kansas State relief ace Tyson Neighbors were unanimously selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
The Big 12 Preseason Poll will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 25. All 13 Big 12 squads open the season Friday, Feb. 16.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
C: Karson Bowen, TCU
IF: Kodey Shojinaga, Kansas
IF: Kaelen Culpepper, K-State
IF: Anthony Silva, TCU
IF: Gavin Kash, Texas Tech*
IF: JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
OF: Bryce Madron, Oklahoma
OF: Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State*
OF: Porter Brown, Texas
DH: Janson Reeder, Kansas
UT: Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
SP: Owen Boerema, K-State
SP: Kole Klecker, TCU*
SP: Payton Tolle, TCU
SP: Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas*
RP: Tyson Neighbors, K-State*
RP: Ben Abeldt, TCU
Preseason Player of the Year
JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Payton Tolle, TCU
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Will Gasparino, Texas
*- unanimous selection
