IRVING, Texas — Ellie Walbruch, Lucy Kesler, Izzi Stratton and Chelsea Peterson from the BYU women’s soccer team were selected to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team following historic championship run, the league announced Monday afternoon.
After earning the final spot in the Big 12 Soccer Tournament as the No. 8 seed, BYU edged out top-seeded TCU in penalty kicks, and shutout Baylor and Kansas to take home the championship.
The Cougars became the first team in Big 12 Conference history to come into the tournament as the No. 8 seed and win the championship.
Throughout the tournament, Walbruch scored a conference-high five goals in three games. She notched back-to-back braces to open the tournament, the first player to accomplish this feat since 1996. After scoring BYU’s lone goal in the championship match, Walburch was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the tournament. This is Walbruch’s second time being named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team after earning the honor back in 2023 as well.
After BYU’s starting goalkeeper went down with a knee injury in the final game of the regular season, Peterson came in and played every minute of every game during the tournament between the posts. In her first three career starts for the Cougars, Peterson tallied 18 saves and two shutouts. After her season-high eight saves in the championship match, Peterson was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the tournament.
As BYU’s starting center back the whole season, Stratton came up big in the Big 12 tournament as a leader on the backline. In BYU’s double overtime match against TCU in the quarterfinal, Stratton played all 110 minutes on the pitch and converted her penalty kick in the shootout to help the Cougars advance to the semifinals. She tallied her first assist of the year in BYU’s 4-0 victory against Baylor.
After missing two of the last three matches of the regular season while at a U-20 USWNT camp, Kesler played an integral role in BYU’s tournament run. She added her third assist of the season in the championship match as she found Walbruch at center field for the winning goal.
The Big 12 All-Tournament Team was voted on by the head coach and one media representative for each institution in the conference.
2025 Big 12 All-Tournament Team
GK Chelsea Peterson, BYU (Most Outstanding Defensive Player)
D Hannah Augustyn, Baylor
D Izzi Stratton, BYU
D Faith Leyba, Colorado
D Caroline Castans, Kansas
MF Tyler Isgrig, Baylor
MF Lucy Kesler, BYU
MF Ava Priest, Colorado
F Ellie Walbruch, BYU (Most Outstanding Offensive Player)
F Emerson Layne, Colorado
F Hope Leyba, Colorado