Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Russell Luna July 6, 2021 469.524.1009 / [email protected]

OU’s Webb and BU’s Butler Named Big 12 Athletes of the Year

IRVING, Texas -- Oklahoma gymnast and Baylor men’s player Jared Butler were named the 2020-21 Big 12 Athletes of the Year. Webb is the seventh Sooner female and third consecutive to win the accolade. Butler is the third Baylor male to win the award and first since 2014.

Nominees are submitted by Big 12 institutions and selected, based on athletic performance, academic achievement and citizenship, by a media panel as well as fan voting conducted through Big12Sports.com.

Webb won three individual NCAA Championships with triumphs in the vault, floor exercise and all-around. She became just the ninth gymnast in NCAA history to accomplish the feat of winning three titles in . Additionally, she placed third on the balance beam and seventh on bars to lead OU to a runner-up finish.

A native of Morton Grove, Illinois, Webb was named the 2021 Honda Sport Award for women’s gymnastics. She was selected as the 2021 Big 12 Co-Gymnast of the Year and was the WCGA Region 4 Gymnast of the Year. Also, she was selected as a finalist for the AAI Award.

The senior won Big 12 titles in the balance beam and vault. Webb collected five All-America honors and was the only gymnast nationally to earn first-team recognition on all four events and the all-around.

In 2021, she collected 33 event titles and scored four perfect 10s. Webb finished her career with 67 event titles to rank second in school history.

A May graduate with a degree in Health, Medicine and Society, Webb was a four-time Academic All-Big 12 selection from 2018 to 2021. Additionally, she volunteered with various organizations including Team Impact, Mercy Hospital, J.D. McCarty and the Boys and Girls Club of Norman. While with Team Impact, Webb communicated regularly with an 11-year-old girl who battles aplastic anemia. She helped her experience the happiness and togetherness of being on a sport team as well as provided emotional support.

With his leadership and determination, Butler led Baylor men’s basketball to its first NCAA National Championship. The three-year letterwinner became the program’s first consensus First Team All-American in program history. He led the Big 12 with a .416 three- percentage and 2.0 steals per contest. The Reserve, Louisiana, native was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and the Basketball Writers Association District VII Player of the Year.

In the NCAA National Championship game, Butler scored 22 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed three rebounds en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Butler graduated from Baylor in three years with a BBA in management. Earlier this season, he was tabbed the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Big 12 Male Sportsperson of the Year, and he is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.

Off the court, Butler served as a speaker at Baylor’s student-athlete unity walk last summer. During his speech, he encouraged his fellow student-athletes to strive for equality and racial justice. He also served as a Sunday School teacher for second and third graders at Waco’s Harris Creek Baptist Church and was a student-athlete representative for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee.

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BIG12SPORTS.COM @Big12Conference #Big12 Facebook.com/Big12 YouTube.com/Big12Conference Other female candidates for Big 12 Athlete of the Year included Aaliyah Miller (Baylor), Sami Williams ( State), Jenny Mosser (Kansas), Ayoka Lee (Kansas State), Maja Stark (Oklahoma State), Emily Alvarado (TCU), Tara Davis (Texas), Ruth Usoro (Texas Tech) and Ceili McCabe (West Virginia).

Male nominees were David Carr (Iowa State), Marcus Garrett (Kansas), Tejaswin Shankar (Kansas State), Isaiah Levingston (Oklahoma), (Oklahoma State), Tre’von Moehrig (TCU), Jordan Windle (Texas), Jace Jung (Texas Tech) and Darius Stills (West Virginia).

Big 12 Athletes of the Year

2020-21 Anastasia Webb, Oklahoma Jared Butler, Baylor 2019-20 , Oklahoma , Oklahoma 2018-19 Ashtin Zamzow, Texas , Oklahoma 2017-18 Maggie Nichols, Oklahoma , Oklahoma 2016-17 , West Virginia Frank Mason III, Kansas & , Texas 2015-16 , Oklahoma , Oklahoma 2014-15 , Oklahoma , Kansas State 2013-14 , Baylor , Baylor 2012-13 , Oklahoma , Kansas State 2011-12 , Baylor Robert Griffin III, Baylor 2010-11 , Texas A&M , Texas 2009-10 Lisa Koll, Iowa State , Nebraska 2008-09 , Texas , Oklahoma 2007-08 , Nebraska , Missouri 2006-07 Sarah Pavan, Nebraska , Missouri 2005-06 , Texas , Texas 2004-05 Cat Osterman, Texas , Texas 2003-04 , Kansas State Jason White, Oklahoma 2002-03 Cat Osterman, Texas , Kansas 2001-02 , Oklahoma , Iowa State 2000-01 , Nebraska , Oklahoma 1999-00 , Texas Charles Howell, Oklahoma State 1998-99 , Texas , Texas 1997-98 Vera Ilyina, Texas , Nebraska 1996-97 , Texas , Kansas

- Big12Sports.com-