Brayden Taylor is the Big 12 Baseball Freshman of the Year

TCU Baseball finished tied atop the Big 12 standings in 2021, and the talented team saw many of its members rewarded for their efforts by the conference Monday.

Eleven TCU baseball players were recognized on the Big 12 All-Conference teams as voted upon by the league head coaches. Brayden Taylor was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in addition to earning second team honors.

Taylor is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and is second on the squad with a .579 slugging percentage. He ranks in the top-10 in the Conference in six categories including: tied for eighth in stolen bases (11), eighth in plate appearances (232), 10th in on-base percentage (.435) and tied for 10th in RBIs (46). Taylor is the third Horned Frog to garner Freshman of the Year, joining Connor Wanhanen (2015) and Luken Baker (2016).

Phillip Sikes and Haylen Green were tabbed first team all-conference performers. Sikes has had an outstanding junior campaign. He co-leads the team with 10 home runs and paces the squad with 56 RBIs. He is hitting .339 on the season with a team-leading 17 doubles and five home runs. In league play, Sikes hit .315 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. Green is tied for the league-lead with 11 saves this season. On the year, he is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA. The senior has fanned 30 while walking only six, and none in league play, in 44 innings pitched.

Taylor, along with Austin Krob, Russell Smith, Hunter Wolfe and Gene Wood, were honored on the second team. Zach Humphreys and Gray Rodgers were named honorable mention. TCU was tied for the league lead with three members on the All-Freshmen team in Taylor, Elijah Nunez and River Ridings.

TCU finished tied atop the Big 12 standings, claiming its third regular season Big 12 title. The Frogs open play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. against Kansas State. All games of the tournament will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.