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Ivan Melendez named Big 12 player of the year, other Longhorns honored

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•05/24/22•

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Ivan Melendez (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

After being named the Big 12’s player of the week a record five times during the 2022 season, it only makes sense that Ivan Melendez was named the Big 12’s player of the year on Tuesday. Melendez, a redshirt junior from El Paso, was one of nine Longhorns who received All-Big 12 honors.

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Melendez is one of the top players in the nation in 2022 and was voted as the player of the year by the Big 12’s baseball coaches. Melendez is the fourth Longhorn to be named Big 12 player of the year in program history, and first since Kody Clemens took home the honor in 2018.

He leads the Big 12 in average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. His efforts throughout the 2022 season has placed him as a top candidate for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award, two of the highest honors available to collegiate baseball players. Melendez’s 28 home runs has him tied with Kyle Russell for the single-season school record.

Melendez was one of two unanimous selections to the All-Big 12’s first team along with Texas’ Friday night starter Pete Hansen. Outfielder Murphy Stehly and catcher Silas Ardoin joined Melendez and Hansen as first-team All-Big 12 honorees from the Texas program.

Hansen boasts a 9-1 record with a 3.28 ERA in 85 innings pitched. Opponents have hit just .216 against him. Stehly has turned in an historic season in his own right. He’s batting .383 and leads the Big 12 in hits with 87. He has slugged 16 homers and tallied 51 RBI. Ardoin is hitting .287 with 10 homers and 45 RBI. He’s thrown out 21 runners attempting to steal a base this season as part of his phenomenal defensive play behind the plate.

Three Longhorns received second-team honors: shortstop Trey Faltine, third baseman Skyler Messinger, and starter Lucas Gordon.

Faltine has hit 14 homers and drove in 46 RBI while playing stellar defense. Messinger overcame a slow start to finish with a .364 average with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, and 49 RBI. Gordon moved into the weekend rotation after 11 games and has a .209 batting average against.

Douglas Hodo III and Austin Todd received honorable mention honors.

Texas begins postseason play on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. versus Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas will host every game. Texas’ first-round matchup will be aired on ESPNU.

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