Nominees for 2023-24 Big 12 Athlete of the Year in Houston

Nominees for the 2023-24 Big 12 Athlete of the Year will be presented alphabetically by school from Monday, June 17 through Tuesday, June 25 at 10 a.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT.

Each institution nominated one male and one female athlete from any classification who competed for their institution during the 2023-2024 school year. Student-athletes had to be in good academic standing and come from a league-sponsored sport.

All 14 schools that competed during the 2023-24 school year are eligible.

Winners will be announced on Wednesday June 26. Stay tuned to Big12Sports.com and the league’s social media platforms to see the rest of the candidates.

The candidates featured this morning are Jamal Shead and Kelly-Ann Beckford of Houston.

Houston Male Athlete of the Year nominee

Jamal Shead, basketball

Sr., Manor, Texas

Achievements

• Named National Defensive Player of the Year by the Naismith Awards, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Field of 68 and Andy Katz.
• He was a consensus first-team All-American nationally.
• Selected as Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to win both awards in the same season. Led UH to a 15-3 mark in league play while winning the Big 12 regular season title.
• Served as a member of Houston’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three seasons from 2021-2024.

Houston Female Athlete of the Year nominee
Kelly-Ann Beckford, cross country and track and field
Gr., Trelawny, Jamaica
Achievements

• Named Big 12 Indoor Female Performer of the Year and Big 12 Indoor Champion in the 800m (meet record holder as well) and 4×400 meter relay.
• Big 12 Outdoor Champion in the 4×400 meter relay.
• Finished third at the NCAA Indoor National Championships in the 4×400-meter relay and was a first-team All-American in the 4×400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
• A fall First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection and nomination to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Nominees for 2023-24 Big 12 Athletes of the Year

Baylor – Johnny Keefer and Alexis Brown
BYU – Kenneth Rooks and Brecken Mozingo
UCF – RJ Harvey and Rayniah Jones
Cincinnati – Ty Gingerich and Juliette Laracuente-Huebner
Houston – Jamal Shead and Kelly-Ann Beckford