Higgins, Peck, Russell Earn Big 12 Honors
J.T. Higgins was selected as the Big 12's Coach of the Year in a vote of the league's head coaches, while senior All-American Jordan Russell and junior All-American Cameron Peck were selected to the All-Big 12 team.
Higgins, a three-time Central Region Coach of the Year, claimed the Big 12's top coaching honor for the first time in his career after leading Texas A&M to a total of 11 top-five finishes and the first Big 12 championship in school history.
He becomes the program's first to ever be named Big 12 Coach of the Year and just the second in school history to claim a league coach of the year award, joining Bob Ellis (1977, 1982 and 1987 SWC). Higgins was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year while at New Mexico in 2001.
Russell, who hails from College Station, was named to the all-conference team for the third straight season. He becomes only the third three-time All-Big 12 honoree in school history, joining current PGA Tour members Ryan Palmer (1997-99) and Bobby Gates (2006-08). Russell ranks third on the team with a 72.6 average and has recorded three top-5 and five top-10 finishes on the year. He finished ninth individually last week in helping lead the Aggies to the Big 12 title.
Peck, a native of Olympia, Wash., makes the All-Big 12 squad for the first time in his career. The team's leading scorer with a 72.1 average on the year, Peck also has three top-5 and five top-10 finishes under his belt. He tied for second at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in the fall, leading A&M to its first team title of the year, and finished in the top 15 of his last four tournaments before being sidelined with a back injury that will leave him out for the remainder of the postseason.
Texas A&M now awaits NCAA Regional selections, which will be announced on Monday, May 7 at 8 p.m. (CT) live on NCAA.com. Regionals will take place May 17-19 at one of six sites-- Greensboro, North Carolina (Grandover Resort); Athens, Georgia (Univ of Georgia GC); Ann Arbor, Michigan (Univ of Michigan GC); Bowling Green, Kentucky (The Club at Olde Stone); Norman, Oklahoma (Jimmie Austin OU GC); and Palo Alto, California (Stanford GC).
The top five teams in each regional advance to nationals, which are scheduled for May 29-June 3 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
2012 All-Big 12 Men's Golf Team
Joakim Mikkelsen, Baylor
Nate McCoy, Iowa State
Jace Long, Missouri
Taylor Gooch, Oklahoma State
Dylan Frittelli, Texas
Toni Hakula, Texas
Jordan Spieth, Texas
Julio Vegas, Texas
Cameron Peck, Texas A&M
Jordan Russell, Texas A&M
Coach of the Year: J.T. Higgins, Texas A&M
Player of the Year: Jordan Spieth, Texas
Newcomer of the Year: Jordan Spieth, Texas
