​WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The eighth annual Nexstar Sports Awards and Hall of Fame banquet launched with a 7 p.m. start Thursday, July 9, 2026, inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum on the Midwestern State University campus. The event highlighted notable achievements in local sports and recognized standout athletes from Texoma and beyond.
Among the evening’s notable features were the nominees for the 2026 Next Level Athlete of the Year. The finalists included three athletes who began their athletic careers at Texoma high schools and continued to excel at the collegiate level or higher elsewhere. The finalists for the 2026 Next Level Athlete of the Year were Taliyah Brooks, who represents Team USA, Meg Meekins from Lubbock Christian University, and Jacob Rodriguez, who competes for Texas Tech University.
Jacob Rodriguez delivered one of the most decorated defensive campaigns in modern college football history. He captured the Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Award, the Butkus Award, and the Lombardi Award, while also earning recognition as the Jason Witten Man of the Year. The former Rider Raider finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, tying the best-ever Texoma finish in that prestigious award alongside JT Barrett.
Rodriguez’s impact extended beyond individual honors. He earned the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award and was a unanimous All-American, guiding Texas Tech to a conference championship and their inaugural appearance in the College Football Playoff. His stellar senior season underscored his role as one of Texoma’s most accomplished athletes to date. In the spring, Rodriguez was selected 43rd overall in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, marking Texoma’s highest draft pick since LJ Collier’s first-round selection in 2019.
As part of Nexstar’s commitment to serving the Texoma region, the event also showcased a range of local sports content. KFDX and Texoma’s FOX continued to provide extensive coverage of high school sports, athlete of the week features, team of the week spotlights, and sports-focused segments through the year. Fans can now access KFDX’s and Texoma’s FOX content on a new platform through the KFDX+ app, which streams 24/7 on smart TVs. The app eliminates the need for antenna, cable, or satellite, offering free streaming on devices such as Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV.
The Nexstar network—publisher of Nexstar Media, Inc.—retains copyright ownership of the 2026 event content. Please note that materials related to the event are not to be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, viewers can visit Texomashomepage.com for updated coverage and multimedia content.