TCU’s Max Duggan and Texas’ Julien Alfred were announced as the Big 12 Male and Female Athletes of the Year for the 2022-23 season. Duggan is the first Horned Frog to earn the award, while Alfred is the 15th Longhorn to procure the honor and the first since the 2018-19 season.
Nominees were submitted by Big 12 institutions and selected based on athletic performance during the 2022-23 school year by a media panel. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and had to be from a league-sponsored sport.
The 10 schools that competed during the 2022-23 academic year were eligible.
Duggan led TCU to its first College Football Playoff appearance and a trip to the CFP National Championship game after a 51-45 semifinal win over Michigan at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. The Heisman Trophy runner-up was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection. He brought home the Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Awards.
Duggan was one of two inaugural recipients of the Bob Bowlsby Award, given to the two student-athletes (one male and one female) who represent the absolute best in the Big 12 for their leadership and excellence, on and off the field of competition. His 41 total touchdowns (32 passing, nine rushing) during the 2022 season were the second most in TCU history.
The second-team All-American was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 member and was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Alfred finished the 2023 season as a five-time NCAA Champion and led UT to its fifth NCAA women’s outdoor track and field title, Texas’ first since 2005. She also helped lead the Longhorns to an NCAA Indoor team runner-up finish.
The St. Lucia native secured five collegiate records (60m & 200m indoor; 4x100m, 4x200m & sprint medley relays outdoor) and two other all-conditions records (100m & 200m outdoor) for a total of seven events with the fastest times in NCAA history. She is a finalist for The Bowerman and was named the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Women’s Track Athlete of the Year. The four-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week was also recognized as the Big 12 Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete and Performer of the Year.
Alfred was named the 2023 USTFCCCA’s Division I Outdoor Track and Field Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The graduate student finished her career as a four-time Big 12 Performer of the Year and a 12-time Big 12 individual champion.
The full list of each school’s nominees can be found below.
2022-23 Big 12 Athletes of the Year Nominees
Baylor – Adam Flagler and Dominika Silvestri
Iowa State – David Carr and Ashley Joens
Kansas – Jalen Wilson and Rylee Anderson
Kansas State – Deuce Vaughn and Emma Robbins
Oklahoma – Vernon Turner and Jayda Coleman
Oklahoma State – Fouad Messaoudi and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
TCU – Max Duggan and Messiah Bright
Texas – Eliot Spizzirri and Julien Alfred
Texas Tech – Ludvig Aberg and Ruta Lasmane
West Virginia – JJ Wetherholt and Ceili McCabe
