FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
IRVING, Texas — José Duran (Texas A&M) and Aaron Crow (Missouri) headline the 2008 All-Big 12 Baseball Awards as Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, it was announced on Tuesday. Duran, a Fort Worth native, was also named Newcomer of the Year while Aggie mentor Rob Childress was tabbed Coach of Year. Rounding out the selections is Chance Ruffin (Texas), who earned Freshman of the Year.
The All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
In his first season in the Big 12, Duran led the conference in hits averaging 1.89 and in total bases with 2.67 per contest in league play. The North Central Texas College transfer also paced the Big 12 in hits (1.68) in all games, while ranking second in RBI (30) and on-base percentage (.496) in conference action. Duran becomes only the second student-athlete in Big 12 history to be named Player of the Year in his first season in the league (Tyler Mach, OSU: 2006 — Player/Newcomer).
Crow, a two-time All-Big 12 first team selection, finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record and leads the nation in wins. He won all but one of his 13 starts en route to setting the Missouri single-season record for wins. The Wakarusa, Kan. right-handed pitcher led the conference in wins (8) and strikeouts (70) during league play in 2008. Crow also tied for the most shutouts (2) and shared second-place in the innings pitched category (65.1). He posted a string of 43.0 scoreless innings pitched, which is unofficially tied for the fourth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history (NCAA does not provide a record for scoreless innings streak in Division I).
Ruffin recorded a 5-2 mark in Big 12 action, posting the best mark by a freshman pitcher this season. He also held conference opponents to a .186 batting average, pacing the league. The Austin, Texas rookie threw 41 K’s to rank 10th amongst Big 12 strikeout leaders.
Childress guided Texas A&M to its third Big 12 regular season title on Sunday, while earning the top seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship. The Aggies finished league play with a 19-8 record, including a Big 12 and school record 16 consecutive conference victories from March 28 to May 11. In three seasons at the helm of the A&M program, Childress has brought the team back into the national spotlight, after finishing last in the conference race just two seasons ago. The Aggies were ranked as high as No. 5 this season and has maintained a presence in the top 10 over the last seven weeks.
The All-Big 12 First, Second and Honorable Mention teams were also announced. Those selections were highlighted by Jacob Priday’s (Missouri) third consecutive All-Big 12 First Team selection.
2008 ALL-BIG 12 BASEBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
José Duran, Texas A&M, SS, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas/North Central Texas College
PITCHER OF THE YEAR:
Aaron Crow, Missouri, RHP, Jr., Wakarusa, Kan./Washburn Rural
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Chance Ruffin, Texas, RHP, Fr., Austin, Texas/Lake Travis
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:
José Duran, Texas A&M, SS, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas/North Central College
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Rob Childress, Texas A&M
ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
| Name, School | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown/Previous School |
| Luke Anders, Texas A&M | 1B | Jr. | College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated |
| Jake Opitz, Nebraska | 2B | Sr. | Littleton, Colo./Heritage |
| José Duran, Texas A&M | SS | Jr. | Fort Worth, Texas/North Central Texas College |
| Dane Carter, Texas A&M | 3B | Sr. | Graham, Texas/Graham |
| Mitch Abeita, Nebraska | C | Sr. | Dallas, Texas/North Central Texas College |
| Aaron Senne, Missouri | OF | So. | Rochester, Minn./Mayo |
| Neil Medchill, Oklahoma State | OF | So. | Oxford, Mich./Chandler-Gilbert CC |
| Kyle Colligan, Texas A&M | OF | Jr. | Houston, Texas/Dulles |
| Jacob Priday, Missouri | DH | Sr. | Sikeston, Mo./Sikeston |
| Jordy Mercer, Oklahoma State | UTL | Jr. | Taloga, Okla./Taloga |
| Aaron Crow, Missouri | SP | Jr. | Wakarusa, Kan./Washburn Rural |
| Johnny Dorn, Nebraska | SP | Sr. | Grand Island, Neb./Grand Island |
| Andrew Oliver, Oklahoma State | SP | So. | Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion |
| Travis Starling, Texas A&M | RP | So. | Yoakum, Texas/Yoakum |
ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM
| Name, School | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown/Previous School |
| Rebel Ridling, Oklahoma State | 1B | Sr. | Sentinel, Okla./Midland JC |
| Thomas Belza, Oklahoma State | 2B | Fr. | Loveland, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller |
| Jordy Mercer, Oklahoma State | SS | Jr. | Taloga, Okla./Taloga |
| Matt Hague, Oklahoma State | 3B | Sr. | Kent, Wash./Washington |
| Trevor Coleman, Missouri* | C | So. | Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs |
| Luis Flores, Oklahoma State* | C | Jr. | Del Rio, Texas/Houston |
| Aljay Davis, Oklahoma | OF | Sr. | Lakewood, Calif./NE Oklahoma A&M |
| Jordan Danks, Texas | OF | Jr. | Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock |
| Roger Kieschnick, Texas Tech | OF | Jr. | Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall |
| Darby Brown, Texas A&M | DH | Sr. | Lubbock, Texas/Cooper |
| Brian Ruggiano, Texas A&M | UTL | Jr. | Austin, Texas/Temple College |
| Thad Weber, Nebraska | SP | Sr. | Friend, Neb./Hutchinson CC |
| Tyler Lyons, Oklahoma State | SP | So. | Lubbock, Texas/Frenship HS |
| Chance Ruffin, Texas | SP | Fr. | Austin, Texas/Lake Travis |
| Daniel Edwards, Kansas State | RP | Sr. | Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood |
*A tie in voting resulted in two second-team catchers.
Honorable Mention — Baylor: Shaver Hansen, 3B; Shawn Tolleson, SP; Beamer Weems, SS Kansas: Buck Afenir, C; John Allman, OF; Erik Morrison, SS; Robby Price, 2B; Ryne Price, OF; Paul Smyth, RP Kansas State: Brad Hutt, SP Missouri: Greg Folgia, 2B; Kyle Gibson, SP; Ryan Lollis, OF Nebraska: Craig Corriston, 1B; Dan Jennings, RP; Bryce Nimmo, OF Oklahoma: Mike Gosse, UTL; Jamie Johnson, OF Oklahoma State: Jordy Mercer, RP, Donnie Webb, OF Texas: Brandon Belt, 1B; Preston Clark, UTL; Cole Green, RP; David Hernandez, SS; Russell Moldenhauer, OF; Cameron Rupp, C; Kyle Russell, OF; Michael Torres, DH Texas A&M: Clayton Ehlert, SP; Barret Loux, SP; Brooks Raley, SP; Blake Stouffer, 2B; Kyle Thebeau, RP Texas Tech: Willie Rueda, 2B
