Komine Named Big 12 Player of the Year

Dallas, Texas - In a year when Big 12 teams came on strongly in the latter portion of the season, the fourth 2000 All-Big 12 Conference baseball team and superlative awards, selected by the league's head coaches, was announced Monday.

Nebraska sophomore pitcher Shane Komine is the Huskers' first Big 12 Baseball Player of the Year while Coach of the Year honors go to Baylor's Steve Smith for the initial time. For the first time in circuit history, the Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors were split into Player and Pitcher designations because of a solid amount of young talent. Freshman Player of the Year is Nebraska designated hitter Matt Hopper while Freshman Pitcher of the Year is Baylor relief ace Shane Carlson. Newcomer Player of the Year is Huskers' first baseman Dan Johnson while Newcomer Pitcher of the Year laurels go to Charlie Thames of Texas.

The All-Big 12 team has three standouts with All-America honors from USA BASEBALL WEEKLY. Komine was first team All-America as a pitcher while two other moundmen, Texas' Thames and Baylor star righthander Chad Hawkins, merited second team All-America in that survey.

Komine has been the national leader in strikeouts for most of the year and entered NCAA Regional tournament play with a school-season-record 142 whiffs. The lithe, 5-10, 165-pound surfing enthusiast (he suffered a fractured back in his second favorite sport in 1998) from Honolulu, Hawai'i, helped coach Dave Van Horn's crew capture its second straight Big 12 postseason tourney crown with a 11-3 win over Baylor on May 21. Komine also was 1999 Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Teammate Johnson has been slugging home runs at a record rate and hit No. 20 prior to the Big 12 Phillips 66 tournament. Texas' Thames has eclipsed all Longhorns' season marks for saves with his 17th at the league jand blew only one save opportunity in his first 18 tries. Yearlings Hopper of NU and Carlson of BU distinguished themselves with such feats as 19 home runs in his first 57 contests (Johnson) and a Baylor career record for saves (15 in his first 23 appearances) for the 5-8, 170-pounder in one season.

Baylor's Smith, who groomed his skills as an assistant coach at Texas A&M under 1998 and '99 Big 12 Coach of the Year Mark Johnson and under Mississippi State/Georgia/Georgia Southern legend Ron Polk at MSU, accepted the BU reins in 1995. He guided the 1999 team to a school-record 50 wins (50-15) and to within one win of advancing to the NCAA World Series (Big 12 power Oklahoma State eliminated the Bears). Smith coached the Bears to their first outright conference championship since the 1923 season (at that time under future National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame football/baseball mentor Morley Jennings) in 2000 as the team ended league play at 23-7.

While two-time repeat members of the 1998 and '99 squads catcher Josh Bard of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State's Josh Holliday completed their eligibility in spring, 1999, there are some solid returning performers on the 2000 units.

Iowa State's Aaron Runk moved from second team to first team as an outfielder in 2000 while Oklahoma State pitcher Matt Smith was selected to both the 1999 and '00 units. Versatile first baseman Rick Park of Oklahoma returns as the second team standout at his position.

Many of the All-Big 12 crews participated in the fourth annual Big 12 Phillips 66 tourney on May 17-21 in Oklahoma City and helped attract the second-largest total conference tournament turnout in NCAA history at 126,482. The 1999 postseason meet drew a NCAA record 129,334 for a two-year total of over one-quarter million (255,816) fans in 27 games.

Big 12 Honors
Player of the Year-Shane Komine, Nebraska
Coach of the Year-Steve Smith, Baylor
Newcomer Player of the Year-Dan Johnson, 1B, Nebraska;
Newcomer Pitcher of the Year--Charlie Thames, Texas
Freshman Player of the Year- Matt Hopper, DH, Nebraska,
Freshman Pitcher of the Year-Zane Carlson, Baylor

2000 All-Big 12 Conference Baseball Team
(As Selected by Conference Head Coaches)
First Team
1B-Dan Johnson, Nebraska, 6-2, 210, Jr., Coon Rapids, Minn..
2B-Tommy Nicholson, Texas, 5-9, 160, Jr., Anaheim, Calif.
SS-Ryan Stegall, Missouri, 6-1, 188, So., Liberty, Mo.
3B-Jason Bartlett, Oklahoma, 6-0, 170, Jr., Lodi, Calif.
Utility-Todd West, Texas, 5-11, 170, Jr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.
C-Justin Cowan, Nebraska, 5-8, 190, Jr., Tumwater, Wash.
OF-Aaron Runk, Iowa State, 5-11, 185, Sr., Stillwater, Minn.
OF-Carlos Gautreaux, Oklahoma State, 5-8, 175, Sr., Abbeville, La.
OF-Ben Emond, Texas, 6-0, 180, Sr., Farnham, Quebec, Canada
OF-Jeff Bajenaru, Oklahoma, 6-1, 190, Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
DH-Matt Hopper, Nebraska, 6-4, 195, Fr., Morrison, Colo.
Starting Pitchers-Shane Komine, Nebraska, 5-10, 165, So., Honolulu, Hawai,i;
Chad Hawkins, Baylor, 6-7, 215, Jr., Grapevine, Texas;
Kyle Evans, Baylor, 6-3, 187. Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.;
Beau Hale, Texas, 6-1, 205, Jr., Mauriceville, Texas
Relief Pitchers-Zane Carlson, Baylor, 5-10, 160, Fr., Dallas, Texas;
Charlie Thames, Texas, 6-1, 185, Jr., Humble, Texas

Second Team
1B-(tie) Mark English, Kansas State, 6-2, 175, Jr., Roeland Park, Kan.;
Rick Park, Oklahoma, 6-4, 215, Sr., Norman, Okla.
2B-Preston Underdown, Baylor, 5-11, 180, Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.
SS-Tommy Whiteman, Oklahoma, 6-3, 175, So., Midwest City, Okla.
3B-Ryan Klocksien, Kansas, 6-2, 195, So., Shorewood, Minn.
UT-Jace Brewer, Baylor, 6-0, 170, So., Washington, Okla.
C-Kelly Shoppach, Baylor, 5-11, 190, So., Ft. Worth, Texas
OF-Jaime Bubela, Baylor, 6-1, 200, Jr., Houston, Texas;
Adam Stern, Nebraska, 5-10, 165, So., London, Ontario, Canada;
Marco Cunningham, Texas Tech, 5-10, 185, Sr., Silt, Colo.;
Jason Rainey, Texas Tech, 6-0, 185, Jr., Cooper, Texas
DH-Chaz Eiguren, Texas Tech, 6-5, 215, Sr., Broomfield, Colo.
Starting Pitchers-Austin Mix, Oklahoma, 6-3, 208, Fr., Coppell, Texas;
Matt Smith, Oklahoma State, 6-4, 218, Jr., Henderson, Nev.;
Josh Merrigan, Oklahoma State, 6-4, 220, Jr., Vermilion, S.D.;
D.J. Jones, Texas, 6-1, 205, Sr., Forney, Texas
Relief Pitcher-Jeff Bajenaru, Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
1B Jeff Ontiveros, Texas; 2B Zach Lekse, Oklahoma; 2B Will Bolt, Nebraska; SS Nebassett Brown, Oklahoma State; SS John Nelson, Kansas; 3B Landon Brandes, Missouri; C Ryan Wickham, Iowa State; C Ryan Budde, Oklahoma State; OF Daylan Holt, Texas A&M; DH Jade O'Brien, Iowa State; SP Pete Smart, Kansas; SP Rusty Philbrick, Kansas; SP Jamie Rodrigue, Nebraska; SP Kevin Tracey, Texas Tech