Photo by: Juan DeLeon
Jean Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
5/20/2025 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Lefty becomes first Big 12 reliever to win Pitcher of the Year
IRVING, Texas – Houston's left-handed pitcher Antoine Jean earned the Big 12 Conference's highest honor on Wednesday when he was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year following a season of pure dominance on the mound. Jean was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
The Montreal, Canada, native became the first reliever in Big 12 Conference history to be named Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in strikeouts per nine innings pitched, hits allowed per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and WHIP while finishing second in total strikeouts and third in ERA.
Jean joined Ryan Wagner from 2003 as the only Cougar relievers to strikeout 100+ in a single season with Jean striking out 5+ hitters in 12 games this season and striking out 7+ in six different games – all out of the bullpen.
The southpaw was one of two pitchers to be top two nationally in strikeouts per nine and hits allowed per nine.
Jean is Houston's first conference Pitcher of the Year since Aaron Fletcher earned the award in 2018 and the seventh Cougar pitcher to earn a Pitcher of the Year award. He is the first Houston reliever to win Pitcher of the Year.
In his career-best outing at UCF, Jean struck out 11 Knights hitters in 5.0 innings of relief work and didn't allow a hit until the ninth inning.
During Big 12 play, Jean went 3-0 with 72 strikeouts with the Cougars winning 10 of the 12 games he pitched in. The left-handed pitcher struck out 5+ in nine of the 12 league games he appeared.
Jean dominated with his breaking ball getting a 56.5% whiff rate on his curveball, which ranked second among all D-1 pitchers who have thrown at least 150 curveballs. His 38.0% whiff rate on the year is 12th nationally among pitchers with at least 500 pitches thrown.
The lefty led the team with 2.33 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this season and his 2.32 Pitcher WAR (pWAR) is 17th nationally and second in the Big 12 Conference.
UP NEXT
No. 11 seeded Houston will play No. 6 seed Kansas State on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Houston-Kansas State game is the only Big 12 tournament game featured on ESPN2 with the remaining games either on ESPNU or ESPN+. The tournament is a single-elimination tournament with the tournament winner earning an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
SUPPORT THE COUGARS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Baseball by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, and by joining the Dugout Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Baseball for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarBB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Baseball. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at @uhcougarbb.
The Montreal, Canada, native became the first reliever in Big 12 Conference history to be named Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in strikeouts per nine innings pitched, hits allowed per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and WHIP while finishing second in total strikeouts and third in ERA.
Jean joined Ryan Wagner from 2003 as the only Cougar relievers to strikeout 100+ in a single season with Jean striking out 5+ hitters in 12 games this season and striking out 7+ in six different games – all out of the bullpen.
The southpaw was one of two pitchers to be top two nationally in strikeouts per nine and hits allowed per nine.
Jean is Houston's first conference Pitcher of the Year since Aaron Fletcher earned the award in 2018 and the seventh Cougar pitcher to earn a Pitcher of the Year award. He is the first Houston reliever to win Pitcher of the Year.
In his career-best outing at UCF, Jean struck out 11 Knights hitters in 5.0 innings of relief work and didn't allow a hit until the ninth inning.
During Big 12 play, Jean went 3-0 with 72 strikeouts with the Cougars winning 10 of the 12 games he pitched in. The left-handed pitcher struck out 5+ in nine of the 12 league games he appeared.
Jean dominated with his breaking ball getting a 56.5% whiff rate on his curveball, which ranked second among all D-1 pitchers who have thrown at least 150 curveballs. His 38.0% whiff rate on the year is 12th nationally among pitchers with at least 500 pitches thrown.
The lefty led the team with 2.33 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this season and his 2.32 Pitcher WAR (pWAR) is 17th nationally and second in the Big 12 Conference.
UP NEXT
No. 11 seeded Houston will play No. 6 seed Kansas State on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Houston-Kansas State game is the only Big 12 tournament game featured on ESPN2 with the remaining games either on ESPNU or ESPN+. The tournament is a single-elimination tournament with the tournament winner earning an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
SUPPORT THE COUGARS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Baseball by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, and by joining the Dugout Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Baseball for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarBB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Baseball. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at @uhcougarbb.
– UHCougars.com –
Players Mentioned
LHP
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