Ackera Nugent was announced as the Big 12 Conference’s Women’s Outstanding Freshman of the Year on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Jamaican, a freshman at Baylor University is only the third Baylor athlete to be named women's outstanding freshman of the year indoors and first since Morgan Stewart in 2018.

"You are what you repeatedly do every day," Nugent said. "Excellence is not an act, but a habit. I really am honoured that I was chosen for Big 12 Women's Outstanding Freshman of the Year."

The former Excelsior High School student raced to a time of 7.91 in the preliminaries of the 60m hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, setting the Baylor school record and tying the best under-20 mark in world history.

If ratified, it would be deemed the U20 World Record in the women's 60m hurdles. She already holds the U18 100m hurdles world record.

Nugent finished second in the finals, clocking 7.98 behind 2019 NCAA Indoor Champion Chanel Brissett of Texas.

Nugent burst onto the scene at the Aggie Invitational on Jan. 23, clocking in at 8:08 to hold the No. 2 spots in both the Big 12 and NCAA at the time. With a now-adjusted time of 7.93, Nugent remains No. 2 in both the Big 12 and NCAA and is tied for ninth in the world.

Her rookie season performances have impressed Baylor Head Coach Todd Harbour.

“Ackera being a freshman, this is not unexpected, but she battled injury a little bit in the middle of the season and didn't run a couple meets,” Harbour said.

“For her to have that kind of race at conference to finish off her indoor season to this point heading into the NCAA meet was awesome. It was a great performance for her, and a prelude of things to come, I believe.”