The Big 12 Conference unveiled its preseason All-Conference team, as voted by the media, for the 2023-24 football season this week.
The conference announced 29 players (15 offense, 14 defense), representing 13 of the 14 member schools. Houston is the lone Big 12 university without a player on the list.
Twelve of the 29 athletes hail from Texas schools, including Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Jaylan Ford, a linebacker at Texas. Four Longhorns earned preseason accolades while defending national runner-up TCU had five. Texas Tech had two, and Baylor had one.
Other notable honorees included Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, Oklahoma State wide receiver Brennan Presley, and Kansas State wide receiver Phillip Brooks.
Daniels was named the conference’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Kansas State running back Treshaun Ward — a transfer from Florida State — was selected as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
The All-Big 12 team also featured six players from the DFW area: Ford (Frisco Lone Star), Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (Denton Ryan) and defensive lineman Byron Murphy II (DeSoto), Texas Tech wide receiver Jerand Bradley (Frisco/DeSoto) and defensive lineman Jaylon Hutchings (Forney), and TCU kicker Griffin Kell (Arlington).
The four teams that joined the conference on Saturday — BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston — have three players on the list; two from Cincinnati and one from BYU.
Due to ongoing expansion throughout college sports, the Big 12 was one of many conferences to welcome new schools on Saturday. The American Athletic Conference added six members, including the University of North Texas. Conference USA added four.
“I’m proud to see UNT join the American Athletic Conference, and I’m excited to see our athletics programs — and our entire university — elevated into a more prestigious conference like The American,” North Texas President Neal Smatresk said in a press release.
“As UNT has grown and made numerous advances in our academic programs and research enterprise in recent years, we’ve emerged as the most comprehensive university in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the fastest-growing in Texas. Joining The American is another example of UNT’s commitment to excellence and is an exciting new beginning for us.”
The Big 12 will hold its annual media days on July 12 and 13 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The American Athletic Conference will have its media days on July 24 and 25 at Texas Live! in Arlington.
***
EXTRA POINTS
— Baylor President Linda Livingstone was named the new chairperson of the Big 12’s Board of Directors, replacing Texas Tech’s Lawrence Schovanec after two years.
— SMU announced the inductees for its 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame Class. The class includes All-American diver Michele Hain Pappas, former women’s basketball player and head coach Rhonda Rompola, and NFL wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
— After rumors that it would join the Pac-12 (along with SMU), San Diego State told the Mountain West Conference it would remain a member of the MWC.
— Former New Mexico State head basketball coach Greg Heiar was hired at Mineral Area College in Missouri. Heiar was fired last season amid hazing allegations and a 9-15 start.
— The NCAA is considering shortening the transfer portal window from 60 to 30 days, meaning student-athletes considering transferring would have 30 days to enter the portal.
— Texas Tech men’s basketball landed a commitment from former West Virginia and Iowa guard Joe Toussaint. Toussaint is entering his fifth college season and coming off a year during which he averaged career-bests in minutes and points per game.
— Ex-TCU guard Rondel Walker committed to UNT as a transfer. Walker is a former four-star recruit who also played two years at Oklahoma State before joining the Horned Frogs’ rotation last season.
— Texas A&M received a Class of 2024 commitment from five-star Central High School (Phenix City, AL) wide receiver Cameron Coleman.
— The NCAA revised its rules for punishing student-athletes who violate its gambling policies.
— D1Baseball named Texas A&M’s Jace Laviolette, TCU’s Kole Klecker, Ben Abeldt, and Anthony Silva, Texas Tech’s Kevin Bazzell, and Dallas Baptist’s Grant Jay to its Freshman All-America teams. Texas’ Lucas Gordon, UTSA’s Simon Miller, and Sam Houston’s Joe Redfield were among the upperclassmen All-Americans.
— Texas State, Texas, and Houston agreed to participate in the Astros Foundation College Classic baseball tournament in March. Vanderbilt, Louisiana, and LSU will join them.
— Nine Texas Longhorns were selected to compete in the World Aquatic Championships in Japan later this month.
