Baylor senior Nathaniel Ezekiel has been awarded the Big 12 Men’s Performer of the Year for the 2025 collegiate indoor track and field season, as announced by the conference on Thursday afternoon.
Ezekiel wrapped up the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship by securing titles in both the 400-meter and the 4×400-meter relay events.
Hailing from Delta State, Nigeria, he is the first athlete from Baylor, known as ‘Quarter-Mile U,’ to achieve a sub-45 second time in the 400-meter race. At the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Ezekiel clocked a time of 44.74 seconds, earning him the title while also breaking the conference meet record, Baylor’s indoor program record, and the African indoor record.
In the 4×400 relay, he delivered the fastest final leg among competitors, finishing in 45.29 seconds, which helped his team comeback from a fourth-place standing to win the gold. This victory marked the first title for the men’s indoor relay team since 2019.
Currently, Ezekiel is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 and NCAA, and No. 2 in the world for his 400-meter time. He becomes one of four Baylor athletes to receive the Big 12 Men’s Performer of the Year award since its inception in 1997, joining KC Lightfoot (2021), Reggie Witherspoon (2006, 2007), and Brandon Couts (1999).
The Baylor track and field team will conclude the indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on March 14-15. Recently confirmed entries show that Ezekiel will compete in the 400 meters and as part of the 4×400 relay team, joined by Abbas Ali, Demar Francis, and Dillon Bedell. The Baylor team will also have participants in the women’s 60m, 200m, pole vault, long jump, and the men’s 200m, 400m, 60m hurdles, and 4×400 relay.
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