The All-Big 12 Conference football teams and individual award winners have been announced. Selections are made by the league’s head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players. The regular season is wrapped up and now its on to the Big 12 Championship Game this weekend.
2025 Big 12 Football Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: LJ Martin, RB, BYU
Defensive Player of the Year: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
Offensive Newcomer of the Year: Devon Dampier, QB, Utah
Defensive Newcomer of the Year: David Bailey, DE, Texas Tech
Offensive Freshman of the Year: Bear Bachmeier, QB, BYU
Defensive Freshman of the Year: Wendell Gregory, LB, Oklahoma State
Special Teams Player of the Year: Palmer Williams, P, Baylor
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
Defensive Lineman of the Year: David Bailey, DE, Texas Tech
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Sawyer Robertson, QB, Baylor
Chuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year: Kalani Sitake, BYU
LJ Martin was selected as Offensive Player of the Year. He is on pace to become just the third Cougar in the last 30 years to finish in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards, sitting in 12th with 1,229 yards entering Saturday’s game.
Jacob Rodriguez is Texas Tech’s first-ever Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. The Heisman Trophy contender is the first FBS player in 20 years to have five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions in the same season.
After being selected as Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year in July, Devon Dampier completed the 2025 season as the Conference’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year. He was selected as the quarterback on the All-Big 12 Third Team and helped lead the Utes to a 10-win season.
David Bailey was voted Defensive Newcomer and Defensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches. The senior defensive end enters Saturday’s Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship with a nation-leading 12.5 sacks, which ranks fourth most in Texas Tech history.
After becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback in BYU history, Bear Bachmeier led the Cougars to an 11-1 record and a berth in Saturday’s Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship. The Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year is the only FBS player this season with at least 2,500 passing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns with four or fewer interceptions.
Wendell Gregory earned defensive freshman honors for Oklahoma State after starting all 12 games on the edge, tallying 27 tackles, 12 of which were for a loss, four sacks and a forced fumble. Gregory tied the Big 12 freshman record with three sacks in the Cowboys’ season opener.
The Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, punter Palmer Williams from Baylor, averaged 46.93 yards per punt this season. He tallied a punt of 50 yards or more in seven of his 12 appearances this season, and only one of his attempts resulted in a touchback.
Spencer Fano was selected as the Offensive Lineman of the Year after helping the Utah offense pave the way to the second-most rushing yards in school history at 3,237, which ranks second in FBS. Fano was also part of a unit that only allowed 11 sacks, ranking eighth nationally.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was voted the Chuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to an 11-1 record and a Big 12 Football Championship appearance. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, BYU has posted an overall record of 22-3. It marks the fourth-best record in FBS over the last two seasons.
Sawyer Robertson, the 2025 Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was not only a leader on the field as one of the nation’s leaders in every major passing statistic, but he also boasts a 3.72 GPA as a Marketing major. Robertson is the third player in Baylor history to receive the award and the first since Dillon Doyle in 2022. The senior finished his Baylor career with 599 completions, 7,616 passing yards and 68 career touchdowns, which all rank in the top five in program history.
