WACO, Texas – Baylor sophomore outside hitter Shelly Fanning has been named to the 2016 Big 12 Preseason Team, selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches and announced Wednesday afternoon by the conference office.
The Houston native and Cypress Ranch product impressed the league in her freshman season, earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors and being named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Fanning’s balanced attack placed her on even footing with All-Big 12 selection Andie Malloy and junior Katie Staiger, with the three outside hitters accounting for over 900 combined kills for the Bears in 2015.
For Fanning, 290 kills was good for a 2.71 kills/set ratio, leading the powerful offensive trio with a .244 attacking percentage.
Thirteen of the 15 preseason All-Big 12 selections were named to the 2015 All-Big 12 First or Second Teams, with 10 of the 15 honorees on last season’s all-conference first team.
The Big 12 will release the 2016 preseason poll on Thursday. Baylor will look to build on last year’s improvements, entering the second year with head coach Ryan McGuyre at the helm of the program. The Bears finished with a 17-13 overall record and a 5-11 mark in conference play.
Baylor kicks off the 2016 season with the annual Green and Gold Scrimmage on Tues., Aug. 23 at 6 p.m., with the Baylor Invitational serving as the regular season opener that weekend, running Aug. 26-27 and featuring UTRGV, Prairie View A&M, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
