Big 12 Champion Huskers Dominate League Honors

Oklahoma City ? Big 12 regular-season co-champion Nebraska captured a near sweep of the major Big 12 awards, while placing 11 players on the All-Big 12 teams released on the opening day of the Big 12 Tournament at Bricktown Ballpark on Wednesday.

 

The Huskers captured the Big 12 Player of the Year (Alex Gordon), Freshman Pitcher of the Year (Johnny Dorn), Newcomer Pitcher of the Year (Joba Chamberlain) and Coach of the Year (Mike Anderson) awards, along with four first-team All-Big 12 honors, four second-team All-Big 12 awards and a trio of honorable-mention all-conference accolades.

<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“It’s nice to be recognized by the coaches in the conference,” Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson said in regards to all of the award recipients. “It will probably mean more to our players five years from now than it does right now. A lot of this has happened for one reason - that we won games as a team. When you are on top of the league and you do those types of things you are going to be recognized.”

 

The list is headlined by third baseman Alex Gordon (Lincoln, Neb.), who was selected as the Big 12’s Player of the Year for the second straight season. A first-team All-American in 2004, Gordon enters the Big 12 Tournament with a conference-leading .396 average with 16 homers and 53 RBIs. The first-team All-American has started all 58 games for the fourth-ranked Huskers and ranks among the Big 12 leaders in 11 of 12 offensive categories. He is the first Big 12 Player to repeat as conference player of the year since former Baylor two-way performer Jason Jennings in 1998 and 1999 and the first-ever Husker to be a two-time conference player of the year. Gordon was also named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award on Wednesday.

 

Starting pitchers Johnny Dorn (Grand Island, Neb.) and Joba Chamberlain (Lincoln, Neb.) join Gordon, as Big 12 award winners, taking the freshman pitcher-of-the-year and newcomer pitcher-of-the-year awards, respectively. Dorn enters the Big 12 Tournament with a 9-1 record and a 1.96 ERA, ranking among the conference leaders in wins (second), ERA (third) and opponent batting average (.196, third). Chamberlain, who transferred from Division II Nebraska-Kearney, has been the ace of the Husker staff, going 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA, while ranking third in the league in strikeouts (106) and sixth in ERA. Both Dorn and Chamberlain were first-team All-Big 12 selections.

 

Head Coach Mike Anderson rounded out the award winners, as he was selected as the league’s coach of the year for the second time in three seasons. Anderson guided the Huskers, who were picked fifth in the league in the preseason polls, to a 46-12 record and a Big 12 co-championship, Nebraska’s third in the last five years.

 

Anderson said that while the coaching award is a nice honor, it recognizes the efforts of the Husker staff, which includes Associate Head Coach Rob Childress, Assistant Coach Andy Sawyers, Volunteer Assistant Coach Will Bolt and Graduate Manager John Cole.

 

“It’s a nice recognition for the whole staff, and it is nice that the other coaches recognize that,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t mean much to me, but it does mean a lot to our staff, and it is a reflection of all of their work.”

 

Senior first baseman Curtis Ledbetter (Lawrence, Kan.) was the fourth Husker named first-team All-Big 12. The senior, who was a first-team selection in 2003 as a designated hitter, is batting .319 with 13 homers and 47 RBIs, as he split time between first base and catcher.

 

In addition to the four first-team honorees, the Huskers also placed four more players on the second team including shortstop Joe Simokaitis (St. Louis, Mo.), outfielder Daniel Bruce (Omaha, Neb.) and pitchers Zach Kroenke (Omaha, Neb.) and Brett Jenson (Eagle Grove, Iowa).  The Huskers added a trio of honorable-mention selections with Brian Duensing (Omaha, Neb.), Ryan Wehrle (Papillion, Neb.) and Dustin Timm (Yutan, Neb.) also collecting conference honors.

 

Nebraska will face No. 8 seed Texas Tech in the final opening-round game of the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.  First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game can be heard live on radio on the Pinnacle Sports Network.