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2008 Softball Postseason Awards Announced
May 9, 2008
IRVING, Texas - Megan Gibson (Texas A&M) has been named the Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the year, becoming the first student-athlete in conference history to garner both awards in the same season. Rhea Taylor (Missouri) was selected as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year while Savannah Long (Oklahoma) earned the Defensive Player of the Year accolade. Texas A&M mentor Jo Evans claimed Coach of the Year honors. The All-Big 12 honors are selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Oklahoma placed a conference-leading seven players on the all-conference squads -- five on the first team and two on the second. Gibson, a senior from Spring, Texas, becomes the second straight Aggie to earn the Pitcher of the Year award and the first to garner the Player honor since 2005. The All-American tallied 30 wins in the circle in 2008 while posting a 1.08 ERA and striking out 241 batters along the way. Offensively, Gibson drove in a team-leading 45 RBI, had 13 home runs and 45 walks. She is also the Big 12 career record holder in home runs (56) and walks (162). Taylor becomes the first Missouri player to win a conference postseason award and only the second overall since Barb Wright was the player of the year in 1997. The two-time Big 12 Player of the Week set the Big 12 single-season stolen base record and Missouri single-season stolen base record with 52. She leads the league with her .408 average, hits (80), runs scored (60) and stolen bases (52), twice as many as the second best Big 12 player). Second in the nation on stolen bags, Taylor has also hit from the leadoff position in all of the Tigers' 58 games this season. Long is the third Sooner to receive the Defensive Player of the Year award that was started in 2004. The senior captain led all Big 12 shortstops in fielding percentage (.977) and least amount of errors (4) through all games during the regular season. She also owns a .357 batting average this season and leads her squad in doubles with 13. Evans, in her 12th year with the Aggies, is receiving her third Big 12 coaching honor (2004, '05, '08). She has led her squad to a program-best 17 conference wins. A&M has been among the top 10 in the nation throughout the whole season and earned the top seed in the Big 12 Championship for the second time in conference history.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Megan Gibson, Texas A&M, P/1B, Sr., Spring, Texas/Spring> ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
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Big 12 Softball |
