July 13, 2005

DALLAS -- Cat Osterman (Texas) and Derrick Johnson (Texas) have been named Big 12 Conference Athletes of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday. Osterman earns the honor for the second time in three years (2003).

Nominees are submitted by each Big 12 institution and selected by a media voting panel based on 2004-05 athletic performance, academic achievement and citizenship.

Osterman, a junior pitcher for the Longhorns, was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2005 for the second time (2003). She redshirted the 2003-04 season while training for the U.S. Olympic Softball Team and helped the squad to the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games as the youngest squad member and only collegian. She won the 2005 Honda Award for softball and was a nominee for the 2005 ESPY Awards for "Best Female College Athlete" and "Best Female Olympic Performance."

The Houston, Texas, native earned her third All-America and All-Midwest Region honors in 2005 while leading Texas to a third-place finish at the Women's College World Series for the second time in three seasons (2003). Osterman is a three-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (2002, 03, 05) and three-time All-Big 12 first team member (2002, 03, 05). She was named USA Softball National Player of the Week twice and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week once this past season. She had 593 strikeouts in 2005, the third-highest single season total in NCAA history. As a junior, Osterman led the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (15.2) while breaking her own NCAA record. She also led the nation in earned run average (0.36).

The lefty threw six no-hitters, including three perfect games, nine one-hitters and 11 two-hitters while earning four Big 12 Pitcher of the Week nods in 2005. She led the conference in ERA, shutouts, opponents batting average, strikeouts and strikeouts per game. Osterman was the Big 12 Tournament Most Valuable Player and named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team. The psychology major has been named to the Big 12 Academic Team twice and to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll four times.

Derrick Johnson, Texas.

Johnson was a senior linebacker on Texas' 2004 football squad. He was honored with the 2004 Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player and the 2004 Butkus Award as college football's top linebacker while leading the Longhorns to an 11-1 record and Rose Bowl championship. He was a unanimous consensus first team All-American this past season and named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He was selected to the All-Big 12 Conference first team for the third time in 2004 (2002, 03).

The Waco, Texas, native was a finalist for the 2004 Bednarik Award (nation's top defensive player), Lombardi Award (nation's top lineman) and Lott Trophy (defensive player of the year). Johnson finished 12th in this past year's Heisman Trophy balloting and was the only defensive player listed among the 10 finalists for the 2004 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. He was Texas' co-captain, co-MVP and won the team's Joe Jamail Leadership Award.

Johnson led the Longhorns with 130 tackles and 73 solo stops as a senior. He set an NCAA single season and UT record with nine forced fumbles while being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week three times. He also registered 10 pressures, eight pass break-ups, two sacks and a blocked extra point. He finished his collegiate career with 458 tackles (third on UT's career list), 281 of those solos (fourth on UT career list). His 65 tackles for loss are a school record. Johnson was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He earned a spot on UT's Athletics Director's Academic Honor Roll in the Spring of 2004 and was the school's Student-Athlete of the Month in September of 2004.


BIG 12 CONFERENCE FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1997 Nanceen Perry, Texas, track
1998 Vera Ilyina, Texas, diving
1999 Suziann Reid, Texas, track
2000 Erin Aldrich, Texas, volleyball/track & field
2001 Greichaly Cepero, Nebraska, volleyball/basketball
2002 Stacey Dales-Schuman, Oklahoma, basketball
2003 Cat Osterman, Texas, softball
2004 Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State, basketball
2005 Cat Osterman, Texas, softball

BIG 12 CONFERENCE MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1997 Jacque Vaughn, Kansas, basketball
1998 Grant Wistrom, Nebraska, football
1999 Ricky Williams, Texas, football
2000 Charles Howell, Oklahoma State, golf
2001 Josh Heupel, Oklahoma, football
2002 Cael Sanderson, Iowa State, wrestling
2003 Nick Collison, Kansas, basketball
2004 Jason White, Oklahoma, football
2005 Derrick Johnson, Texas, football