The Best of 2015 Cowboy Baseball: Big 12's Best

Tim Arakawa & Gage Green

October 29, 2015 | Cowboy Baseball

The 2015 season added to the long and storied history of Oklahoma State baseball, with the list of Cowboy accomplishments under third-year head coach Josh Holliday a long one. We're looking back at some of the most memorable moments and impressive feats turned in by the '15 ballclub, and today we look at six Cowboys who were recognized as some of the top players in the Big 12 Conference.

Six Cowboys Earn All-Big 12 Conference Accolades
Oklahoma State was well represented when the Big 12 Conference coaches voted on the top players in the league in 2015.

Six Cowboys earned All-Big 12 honors, and two of those added their names to an elite list as Gage Green and Donnie Walton became the eighth and ninth players in OSU history to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades twice in a career, joining Zach Fish (2013-14), Vince Wheeland (2013-14), Jordy Mercer (2006, 2008), Tyler Mach (2006-07), Corey Brown (2005, 2007), Jason Jaramillo (2003-04) and Josh Holliday (1998-99).

Green and Walton were joined on the 2015 All-Big 12 First Team by Michael Freeman, who was also named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Earning second-team honors were Tim Arakawa, Ryan Sluder and Corey Hassel.

Here's a quick breakdown of each of the Cowboys' six all-league performers:

• Freeman finished his breakout senior season with a 10-3 record and 1.31 ERA in 15 starts. The southpaw led the Big 12 with four complete games and a .184 opponent batting average and finished second in wins, strikeouts (97) and innings pitched (109.2).

• Green continued to play a versatile role and a catcher and outfielder during his senior season and was named all-conference as a catcher. He hit .291 with five home runs and 29 RBIs, ranked fourth nationally with 18 sacrifice bunts and racked up 18 stolen bases.

• Walton missed 19 games with injury during his junior season but hit .326 with four homers and 29 RBIs in 39 games and was one of the league's top defensive shortstops.

• Arakawa capped his OSU career by earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. The second baseman hit .289 and was second on the Cowboys with 37 RBIs. He reached base safely in OSU's final 33 games of '15, and he also recorded a .991 fielding percentage.

• Sluder had a breakout sophomore season as the outfielder was second on the Cowboys with a .309 batting average and led the club with six homers. In Big 12-only games, Sluder led the conference with a .403 batting average and .701 slugging percentage, and he smashed five of his home runs in league play.

• Hassel joined Sluder as a breakout star in the OSU outfield. The junior led the Cowboys with a .312 batting average to go along with three homers, 33 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He also contributed on the mound, where he was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA.

A trio of Cowboys were named honorable mention All-Big 12 performers — infielder Dustin Williams and pitchers Trey Cobb and Remey Reed — while Jacob Chappell earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

The Best of 2015 Cowboy Baseball