Oklahoma Athletes Land Big 12 Honor

By OU Media Relations 

University of Oklahoma student-athletes Tanner Groves (men's basketball) and Katherine LeVasseur (women's gymnastics) have been named two of seven Big 12 Winter Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the conference office announced Friday.

Groves is the first men's basketball player in OU history to garner the accolade, while LeVasseur joins two-time Elite 90 Award winner Emma LaPinta as the only Sooner gymnasts to earn the honor.

Eighteen Sooners have now been named Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year in the 11-year history of the award. 

The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. Nominees for each league-sponsored sport are submitted by Big 12 institutions and have to meet the following criteria: 1) must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), 2) have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher, 3) participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests, and 4) have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. The winners are selected by a vote of the league head coaches for that sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.

Tanner Groves | Men’s Basketball | Super Senior | Spokane, WA

Groves, a two-time College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) All-American, is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in organizational leadership at Oklahoma. The Spokane, WA, product has a maintained a cumulative 3.92 GPA. Prior to his time with the Sooners, Groves earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies from Eastern Washington.

Groves started 66 games in his two seasons in Norman, averaging 10.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. Last season, he led OU in rebounds per outing (7.2) and was one of two Sooners to average 10-plus points per game (10.2).

In 2021-22, Groves received All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades and was a three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. He was one of 10 men's basketball student-athletes selected as Senior CLASS Award finalists.

In addition to his honors with the Sooners, Groves was named 2021 Big Sky Conference MVP in his last season at EWU and was a three-time Big Sky All-Academic Team selection.

Katherine LeVasseur | Women’s Gymnastics | Junior | San Antonio

LeVasseur, a health and exercise science major, holds a 3.87 cumulative GPA, was named to the conference’s Academic All-Big 12 Team and earned WCGA Academic All-America honors each of the past two seasons.

Over the past three years, LeVasseur has helped lead the Sooners to an 89-6 record (including 23-0 at home and 9-0 in the Big 12), two Big 12 championships and two national championships. She helped the Sooners to a No. 1 national ranking for the entire 2023 season, a 28-2 record and their sixth national championship. A staple in the vault lineup, LeVasseur was ranked in the top 12 nationally on the event for the entire regular season, finishing first in the Big 12 and fourth in the nation. She was named 2023 Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year.

After her first career perfect score in 2022, LeVasseur earned three perfect 10s this past season (all on vault) and is currently ranked sixth in program history with four career perfect 10 scores. The San Antonio, Texas, native is tied for top regional vault score in program history, a perfect 10 she posted at the NCAA Norman Regional final on April 1.

LeVasseur now has five career All-America honors (two NCAA, three regular season) after earning first-team honors on vault at the NCAA Championships and during the regular season in 2023. She is a four-time All-Big 12 honoree (including on vault in 2023) and earned three Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week awards in 2023 (Jan. 17, Feb. 28, March 14).