Utah Pitcher, BYU Hitter Earn Big 12 Weekly Recognition
Feb 24, 2025, 5:13 PM
Utah sophomore pitcher Colter McAnnelly delivers a pitch against Pepperdine in the 20-25 season opener. (Utah Athletics, Ryan Gallant) BYU's Cooper Vest prepares to hit during the Cougar's 2025 spring game. (BYU Photo)
(BYU Photo)
SALT LAKE CITY—Baseball in the Beehive State is going strong, with the BYU Cougars and Utah Utes each having a player earn Big 12 week two honors. Utah starting pitcher Colter McAnnelly was named Pitcher of the Week, making him back-to-back on the award to open 2025. BYU’s Cooper Vest shared Big 12 Player of the Week recognition with Arizona State’s Nu’u Contrades.
The Big 12 announced their Player and Pitcher of the Week awards on Monday, February 24.
RELATED: Utah Baseball Enters 2025 Looking To Build On Pac–12 Progress
𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊🤙 pic.twitter.com/N7LpDaLLXm
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) February 24, 2025
Cooper Vest shines for Cougars in Northridge
A redshirt senior out of St. George, Utah, Vest’s bat was unstoppable against UCLA and Cal State Northridge over the weekend. He hit .438 with three homers, three doubles, five RBI, and seven runs scored. The Cougar first baseman was also perfect in the field, helping his team to a 2-2 week.
RELATED: Stone Cushing Named To Big 12 All-Preseason Team
𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝟏𝟐 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 pic.twitter.com/Ar84GvcW8A
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) February 24, 2025
Vest slashes .303/.410/.758 with a team-high four homers and seven runs driven in.
The Cougars started the week with a loss to UCLA, followed by back-to-back wins over the Matadors. Cal State Northridge took the final game of the series. BYU heads into week three with a 4-4 record.
McAnnelly leads Utah baseball to a 7-1 start
McAnnelly followed his six-inning Opening Day start with a career-high seven shutout innings, becoming the first Ute pitcher with double-digit strikeouts since 2021.
He scattered four hits and walked one on 98 pitches in Utah’s 8-0 in over San Diego State. After a no-decision in his first start, McAnnelly is now 1-0 this year.
RELATED: Colter McAnelly Earns Big 12 Honor
Not trying to be unoriginal here 😉 but if we copy-paste our other caption and update the inning it'd be accurate
6 outs, 6 K's for @ColterMcanelly
📊 https://t.co/qr0Zug3c0A
📺 https://t.co/3vuAPaEUBN#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/OlysLZlUaR— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) February 22, 2025
The Cheyenne, Wyoming native has picked up right where he left off after a terrific freshman season in 2024. McAnnelly has a 0.69 earned run average, and opponents are hitting a paltry .130 against him. His control has been on point through two starts, with two walks issued against 14 punchouts.
McAnnelly shared the week one Big 12 Pitcher of the Week with Baylor’s Ethan Calder.
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BYU heads to Spokane, Washington, to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Coach Hurtz Field in a four-game series. The first pitch in game one is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT on Thursday, February 27. BYU’s home schedule begins on Wednesday, March 5, against Stetson.
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Utah makes its third trip to the Golden State in three weeks for two games each against California Baptist and UC Riverside. The Utes open the weekend against the UCB Lancers on Friday, February 28. First pitch is at 3 p.m. MT. Utah opens its final season at Smith’s Ballpark on March 18 against Northern Colorado.
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