From the University of Texas:
No. 16 Texas Baseball’s Johnson named Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Lebarron Johnson Jr. is joined by outfielder Porter Brown on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 16 Baseball’s Lebarron Johnson Jr. has been named the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while Will Gasparino was named the league’s Preseason Freshman of the Year, the conference office announced Wednesday.
In addition to Johnson, outfielder Porter Brown was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Johnson was one of six unanimous selections to the preseason team.
Johnson Jr. was picked a 2023 second team All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection after working his way into the weekend rotation. The righty from Jacksonville, Florida finished the season with an 8-4 record and a 2.91 ERA, highlighted by a one-run shutout of Miami in the second game of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional. The economics major held opponents to a .231 batting average in his redshirt sophomore season, and his 86.2 innings pitched ranked fourth in the Big 12.
Brown was named to the All-Big 12 First Team last season after batting .323 with 14 doubles, 12 homers, 59 RBI and 46 runs scored. The San Antonio native made an immediate impact after transferring to Texas from TCU and started all 64 games in left field.
Gasparino, an outfielder from Los Angeles, was rated as one of the top 75 prospects in the Major League Baseball Draft before arriving on the Forty Acres. He helped Harvard-Westlake High School, a program that has produced MLB stars such as Max Fried, Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty, to a CIF State Championship in 2021.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
C: Karson Bowen, TCU
IF: Kodey Shojinaga, Kansas
IF: Kaelen Culpepper, K-State
IF: Anthony Silva, TCU
IF: Gavin Kash, Texas Tech*
IF: JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
OF: Porter Brown, Texas
OF: Bryce Madron, Oklahoma
OF: Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State*
DH: Janson Reeder, Kansas
UT: Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
SP: Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas*
SP: Owen Boerema, K-State
SP: Kole Klecker, TCU*
SP: Payton Tolle, TCU
RP: Tyson Neighbors, K-State*
RP: Ben Abeldt, TCU
Preseason Player of the Year
JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Payton Tolle, TCU
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Will Gasparino, Texas
No. 16 Texas Baseball’s Johnson named Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Lebarron Johnson Jr. is joined by outfielder Porter Brown on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 16 Baseball’s Lebarron Johnson Jr. has been named the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while Will Gasparino was named the league’s Preseason Freshman of the Year, the conference office announced Wednesday.
In addition to Johnson, outfielder Porter Brown was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Johnson was one of six unanimous selections to the preseason team.
Johnson Jr. was picked a 2023 second team All-American and first team All-Big 12 selection after working his way into the weekend rotation. The righty from Jacksonville, Florida finished the season with an 8-4 record and a 2.91 ERA, highlighted by a one-run shutout of Miami in the second game of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional. The economics major held opponents to a .231 batting average in his redshirt sophomore season, and his 86.2 innings pitched ranked fourth in the Big 12.
Brown was named to the All-Big 12 First Team last season after batting .323 with 14 doubles, 12 homers, 59 RBI and 46 runs scored. The San Antonio native made an immediate impact after transferring to Texas from TCU and started all 64 games in left field.
Gasparino, an outfielder from Los Angeles, was rated as one of the top 75 prospects in the Major League Baseball Draft before arriving on the Forty Acres. He helped Harvard-Westlake High School, a program that has produced MLB stars such as Max Fried, Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty, to a CIF State Championship in 2021.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
C: Karson Bowen, TCU
IF: Kodey Shojinaga, Kansas
IF: Kaelen Culpepper, K-State
IF: Anthony Silva, TCU
IF: Gavin Kash, Texas Tech*
IF: JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
OF: Porter Brown, Texas
OF: Bryce Madron, Oklahoma
OF: Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State*
DH: Janson Reeder, Kansas
UT: Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
SP: Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas*
SP: Owen Boerema, K-State
SP: Kole Klecker, TCU*
SP: Payton Tolle, TCU
RP: Tyson Neighbors, K-State*
RP: Ben Abeldt, TCU
Preseason Player of the Year
JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia*
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Lebarron Johnson Jr., Texas
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Payton Tolle, TCU
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Will Gasparino, Texas
