Kansas Jayhawks’ Ochai Agbaji wins Big 12 male athlete of the year award

Former University of Kansas men’s basketball guard Ochai Agbaji has been named 2022 Big 12 male athlete of the year, the conference announced Monday.

Oklahoma softball player Jocelyn Alo won the women’s athlete of the year honor.

Nominees are submitted by Big 12 schools and selected based on athletic performance during the 2021-22 school year by a media panel.

Both players led their teams to national championships.

Agbaji was the most outstanding player of the 2022 men’s Final Four. The Kansas City native, who led the Big 12 in scoring at 18.8 points a game, also was a unanimous pick for Big 12 player of the year and a consensus All-America first-team selection. He was the most outstanding player at the Big 12 Tournament, averaging 18.7 points in three games.

“What a great honor to be named this among all the athletes in the Big 12. It is humbling to be listed among Heisman Trophy winners, other national champions and great athletes. This would not be possible without my teammates, coaches and the KU support staff. We had a great run to the national title and it took a lot of people to get there, not just me,” Agbaji said Monday in a KU news release.

Agbaji was selected by Cleveland with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Alo was the most outstanding player of the 2022 NCAA Women’s College World Series, as the Sooners captured a second consecutive NCAA title and the program’s sixth. The Hauula, Hawaii native set an NCAA career record with 122 home runs, breaking the record in her home state in March. She is a member of the United States national softball team.

Other candidates for Big 12 female athlete of the year were NaLyssa Smith (Baylor basketball), Ashley Joens (Iowa State basketball), Alexandra Emilianov (Kansas track and field), Ayoka Lee (Kansas State basketball), Taylor Roe (Oklahoma State cross country and track), Lauren Kellett (TCU soccer), Peyton Stearns (Texas tennis), Ruth Usoro (Texas Tech track and field) and Ceili McCabe (West Virginia cross country and track).

Big 12 male athlete of the year candidates were Jalen Pitre (Baylor football), Breece Hall (Iowa State football), Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State football), Chris Gotterup (Oklahoma golf), Eugenio Chacarra (Oklahoma State golf), Chengetayi (Du) Mapaya (TCU track and field), Ivan Melendez (Texas baseball), Ludvig Aberg (Texas Tech golf) and Zach Fraizer (West Virginia football).