Texas Tech University Athletics
Edwards Named To All-Big 12 Freshman Team
June 13, 2002 | Baseball
June 13, 2002
DALLAS, Texas - Big 12 Conference baseball coaches have selected a 2002 All-Freshmen team from among a solid group of first-year student-athletes (both redshirt and true freshmen). Madison Edwards of Texas Tech was honored by the league for an outstanding freshman campaign.
The group includes a standout quarterback-first baseman (Josh Fields) of Oklahoma State, COLLEGIATE BASEBALL first team Freshmen All-America pitchers Travis Wendte of Missouri, David Purcey of Oklahoma and Huston Street of Texas, and the league's best yearling hitter in Texas DH J.D. Reininger with a .346 batting average.
Youngsters on the first-year "dream team" include the aforementioned quartet, Baylor infielder Michael Griffin, Oklahoma infielder Matt Bose, Texas infielder Michael Hollimon, Oklahoma State catcher Jason Jaramillo, outfielders Madison Edwards of Texas Tech, Coby Mavroulis of Texas A&M, and Daniel Bruce of Nebraska along with Missouri pitcher Abel Newton, Nebraska pitcher Brian Duensing, NU hurler Phil Shirek, Oklahoma pitcher Jared McAuliff, and Texas A&M's Logan Kensing.
The standout freshmen come from six different states in and around the Big 12 area with a varied pedigree. All contributed to their teams' contention for the Phillips 66 Big 12 tournament, NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals, and even College World Series possibilities in 2002.
Fields (Stillwater, Okla.), who engineered OSU's 16-13 win over then-fourth-ranked and eventual SBC Cotton Bowl champion Oklahoma in his final football game of 2001, batted over .500 for most of the first half of the baseball campaign. Wendte (Moore, Okla.) paced MU with five saves and was tied for fifth among Big 12 moundmen for coach Tim Jamieson's Tigers. Street (Austin, Texas) had a Texas yearling-record 10 saves in 30 appearances prior to the NCAA Super Regionals and a sterling strikeout to walk ration of 9:1 per nine innings worked. Purcey (Addison, Texas) was one of the league's most versatile performers with 24 appearances (eight starts), a 5-4 record, 3.35 ERA (fifth in the Big 12), 84 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings pitched, six saves (tied for fourth in the league) and 10.04 whiffs every nine innings. Reininger (Spring Branch, Texas) made the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 tournament team while smashing 12 home runs (second on the UT squad in 2002 to school career recordholder Jeff Ontiveros) and driving in 47 runs in his first 55 games.
Duensing (Omaha, Neb.) worked his way into the Nebraska rotation when Shane Komine was injured and responded with a 6-1 record after 11 starts with 57 strikeouts in his first 70 innings of work and 2.57 bases on balls allowed per nine frames of work.
Tech's Edwards (Midland, Texas) also was fifth in triples in the conference with six while UT's Hollimon (Dallas, Texas) was fourth in walks with 39 in his first 62 games. The Texas freshman also developed into one of the better fielding shortstops in the conference as the year progressed. BU's Griffin (Dallas, Texas) was one of the Bears' top power hitters with seven homers and 49 RBI in his first 57 outings.
OU's Bose (Midland, Texas) was equally potent with five homers and 40 RBI prior to NCAA Regionals, and OSU's Jaramillo (Franksville, Wis.) became one of the league's top defensive catchers while hitting .330 in 45 contests. Mavroulis (Abilene, Texas), Bruce (Omaha, Neb.), Newton (Russellville, Ark.), Shirek (Minot, N.D.), McAuliff (Stillwater, Okla.), and Kensing (Boerne, Texas) all had immediate impacts on the Big 12 and add to a promising future for the league.
