Senior outside hitter Madisen Skinner is Texas’ latest Big 12 Athlete of the Year winner.
“Speechless right now,” Skinner said on social media. “So grateful for (Texas volleyball) and the incredible people surrounding me that helped make this possible.”
To determine the winner of the accolade, schools across the conference submit their nominations for the award. Then, a media panel selects one male and one female athlete across all sanctioned sports.
For the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year, the panel selected Houston senior basketball player Jamal Shead over Texas’ male nomination, senior decathlete Leo Neugebauer.
But for the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year, Skinner took home the award, becoming the 11th Longhorn to receive the honor and the first volleyball player since 2009.
The Katy native had an impressive 2023-24 season, guiding Texas to its second consecutive NCAA Championship win and her third national title. With her backrow attacks and ability to quickly react to the ball coming over the net, Skinner averaged 4.80 kills per set and led the team with 46 aces.
In the championship game, Skinner ended with 16 kills, two aces and became the 2023 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Even though she was battling an illness throughout the championship tournament, Skinner was still an instrumental part of their win.
She was also named Big 12 Player of the Year, CWSA Honda Sport Award Winner and VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year.
Skinner didn’t just bring in awards for her athletic performance. As a health and society senior planning on attending PA school, Skinner did not take her academics lightly. She made First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors and was selected to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
From award banquets to making her Volleyball Nations League debut, Skinner has had a busy summer. However, she won’t get a break once the school year starts. Skinner and the rest of the Texas team plan to continue their success starting the first day in September, opening against Wisconsin at the Women’s College Volleyball Showcase in Milwaukee.
“I’m excited for this next year and whatever comes after that,” Skinner told VolleyballMag.com after the championship win. “I’ll figure it out when I get there.”
