Texas outfielder Max Belyeu named Big 12 player of year, 4 Longhorns on first team

AUSTIN (KXAN) — For Texas sophomore outfielder Max Belyeu, a little confidence went a long way this season.

After playing in 15 games last season as a freshman, Belyeu turned a slow start to his sophomore season into a season that Big 12 Conference coaches thought was the best. He was named the Big 12 player of the year Monday, and once Belyeu started hitting, he didn't stop.

Belyeu leads the Longhorns into the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday with a .703 slugging percentage and 17 home runs, tied for the team lead with Jalin Flores. Belyeu is hitting .341 with 14 doubles and 49 RBIs in 185 at-bats and is the fifth Longhorn to be named the league's top player. Ivan Melendez was named the conference player of the year in 2022.

Belyeu's year got off to an inauspicious start. He didn't have a hit in the opening series against San Diego but then got it going until a mini-slump during the Washington series. Following that series, he turned into one of the Longhorns' most consistent hitters.

Joining Belyeu on the first team are infielders Jalin Flores and Jared Thomas along with relief pitcher Gage Boehm. Flores also had a terrific turnaround campaign after hitting .175 last season, leading the team with 21 doubles and is hitting .348 on the year. Thomas leads the team with a .363 batting average and is the Big 12's hit king with 82 while Boehm notched eight saves to emerge as one of the top back-end arms in the conference. Thomas was also named an honorable mention utility player.

Third baseman Peyton Powell was named to the second team while pitchers Max Grubbs and Ace Whitehead, along with outfielder Will Gasparino and catcher Ryan Galvan, were named honorable mention. Gasparino was also named to the all-freshman team.

Texas opens Big 12 Conference tournament play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Texas Tech.

All-Big 12 Conference baseball honors

Player of the Year: Max Belyeu, Texas
Pitcher of the Year: Payton Tolle, TCU
Freshman of the Year: Dominic Voegele, Kansas
Newcomer of the Year: Payton Tolle, TCU
Coach of the Year: Skip Johnson, Oklahoma

All-Big 12 First Team
C: Jake English, Kansas
IF: Brady Day, Kansas State
IF: Michael Snyder, Oklahoma
IF: Jalin Flores, Texas
IF: Jared Thomas, Texas
IF: JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia
OF: Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
OF: Zach Ehrhard, Oklahoma State
OF: Max Belyeu, Texas
DH: Easton Carmichael, Oklahoma
UT: Josh Kross, Cincinnati
SP: Braden Davis, Oklahoma
SP: Brian Holiday, Oklahoma State
SP: Payton Tolle, TCU*
SP: Derek Clark, West Virginia
RP: Gage Boehm, Texas
RP: Ben Abeldt, TCU

*- unanimous selection

All-Big 12 Second Team
C: Kevin Bazzell, Texas Tech
IF: Kodey Shojinaga, Kansas
IF: Kaelen Culpepper, Kansas State
IF: Colin Brueggemann, Oklahoma State
IF: Peyton Powell, Texas
IF: Reed Chumley, West Virginia
OF: Cary Arbolida, Houston
OF: Bryce Madron, Oklahoma
OF: Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State
DH: Wesley Jordan, Baylor
UT: Christian Mitchelle, Cincinnati
UT: Justin Murray, Houston
SP: Dom Stagliano, UCF
SP: Reese Dutton, Kansas
SP: Dominic Voegele, Kansas
SP: Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma
SP: Sam Garcia, Oklahoma State
RP: Tyson Neighbors, Kansas State
RP: Robert Cranz, Oklahoma State

Ties resulted in five starting pitchers and two utility players on the second team

Honorable Mention
Baylor: Ethan Calder, Cole Posey
BYU: Stone Cushing, Mason Olson, Collin Reuter
UCF: Dominic Castellano, Chase Centala, Kyle Kramer, Danny Neri, Matt Prevesk
Cincinnati: Lauden Brooks, Kerrington Cross, Josh Hegemann, Tommy O’Connor, Nathan Taylor
Houston: Cade Citelli, Harold Coll 
Kansas: Michael Brooks, Hunter Cranton, Ben Hartl, John Nett
Kansas State: Owen Boerema, Nick English, Brendan Jones, Raphael Pelletier, Jackson Wentworth
Oklahoma: Cater Campbell, Anthony Mackenzie, Scott Mudler, Jackson Nicklaus, John Spikerman, Jaxon Willits
Oklahoma State: Aidan Meola, Tommy Molsky
TCU: Kurtis Byrne, Zachary Cawyer, Logan Maxwell, Sam Myers
Texas: Rylan Galvan, Will Gasparino, Max Grubbs, Jared Thomas (UT), Ace Whitehead
Texas Tech: Damian Bravo, Gavin Kash, Cade McGee, T.J. Pompey, Kyle Robinson, Drew Woodcox
West Virginia: Aidan Major, Sam White (OF/UT), Kyle West

All-Freshman Team

Kuhio Aloy, BYU
Nathan Taylor, Cincinnati
Ace Reese, Houston
Dominic Voegele, Kansas
Blake Dean, Kansas State
Jaxon Willits, Oklahoma
Chase Brunson, TCU
Sam Myers, TCU
Will Gasparino, Texas
Mac Heuer, Texas Tech
Parker Hutyra, Texas Tech
T.J. Pompey, Texas Tech