As voted on by the league’s head coaches, the Cougars came in behind Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Arizona and Baylor, all four of which are ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 poll. BYU sits in front of Utah, UCF, Arizona State, Kansas, Iowa State and Houston.

Owens was one of five unanimous picks on the 18-player Big 12 Preseason Team. The utility player was ranked No. 74 on Softball America’s Preseason Top 100 list, and was also an NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team honoree last season.

Starting 48 of the Cougars’ 51 games in 2024, including at four different positions and nine games as the designated player (DP), Owens returns the team’s best batting average from last year, at .348. She tallied 54 hits, 40 RBI, 39 runs scored and six homers, and also went 9-for-9 on stolen bases.

BYU will begin its 2025 campaign at UC San Diego’s La Jolla Invitational on Thursday, Feb. 5, opening the year with a matchup against the Tritons at 6 p.m. PST.

For a complete list of the preseason polls an awards, go to big12sports.com.

Baseball tabbed 14th in Big 12 preseason poll

IRVING, Texas — Oklahoma State was picked as the preseason favorite in a vote by the league’s coaches, the highest ranking in program history.

The Cowboys received nine-first place votes and are coming off a season that saw them win the 2024 Big 12 Championship and host the NCAA Stillwater Regional.

Arizona tallied four first-place votes to finish second in the poll, followed by TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech in the top five.

BYU, which finished 21-31 overall and 7-23 in its first season of Big 12 play, was selected to finish 14th (last) by the league’s coaches with 21 overall votes.

Oklahoma State outfielder Nolan Schubart,, Kansas pitcher Dominic Voegele and TCU pitcher Ben Abeldt were unanimous selections on the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

Relief pitcher Stone Cushing was the only Cougar named to the squad. Cushing was one of three relievers named to the Preseason Team along with Dominic Castellano of UCF and Abeldt.

After beginning his collegiate pitching career at College of Southern Idaho, Cushing arrived at BYU in 2024 and quickly cemented himself as the program’s go-to closer. As a junior in 2024, the Salem, Utah native recorded 10 saves with an ERA of 3.93 and 46 strikeouts while allowing a batting average of just .175 in 34.1 innings pitched.

With 10 saves on the season, Cushing finished the 2024 regular season as the Big 12’s leader in saves and games finished (25) along with a tie for first in appearances (29) and games in relief (29).

The 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big 12 performer finished tied for ninth nationally in saves and was one of only 14 pitchers nationally to record double-digit regular season saves.

The Cougars begin the season on Feb. 14 with a four-game series at Fresno State. The Cougars play their first 11 games on the road before their home opener March 5 against Stetston, the first of a four-game series.

For a complete list, go to big12sports.com.