IRVING, Texas — Kihei Akina and Simon Kwon received Big 12 honors and awards, the conference announced on Monday.
Akina was named the 2026 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned an All-Big 12 First Team nod. Akina claimed two individual titles and seven top-5 finishes, including two second-place finishes, on his way to being the No. 6-ranked golfer in the nation, the second-highest-ranked player in the Big 12. His best tournament performance came at the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational, where he carded a school record 21-under 195. The freshman is fresh off a runner-up finish at The Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship.
Akina was the best Cougar in eight of 12 events in 2025-26, on his way to a team-leading 68.92 scoring average.
Kwon nabbed an All-Big 12 Second Team spot, his first Big 12 honor since joining the Cougars at the beginning of last season. The senior achieved four top-5 and six top-10 finishes this season, with his best coming at The Tindall. He earned a share of third with a season-best 10-under 206. Kwon currently holds a 70.76 scoring average this season.
The Player and the Freshman of the Year awards were determined by Clippd rankings, while the Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Head Coach of the Year were voted on by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.
Player of the Year: Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
Freshman of the Year: Kihei Akina, BYU
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Will King, Kansas
Coach of the Year: Alan Bratton, Oklahoma State
All-Big 12 First Team
- Filip Jakubcik, Arizona
- Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State
- Connor Williams, Arizona State
- Kihei Akina, BYU
- Preston Stout, Oklahoma State
- Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State
- Adam Bresnu, Texas Tech
- Connor Graham, Texas Tech
- Tim Wiedemeyer, Texas Tech
- Sergio Jimenez, Utah
All-Big 12 Second Team
- Taishi Moto, Arizona
- Zach Pollo, Arizona
- William Wistrand, Arizona
- Fifa Laopakdee, Arizona State
- Simon Kwon, BYU
- Ryan Ford, Cincinnati
- Hudson Weibel, Houston
- Gaven Lane, Oklahoma State
- Eric Lee, Oklahoma State