USA Baseball Announces 30 Semifinalists for 2009 Golden Spikes Award

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FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE

(DURHAM, N.C.) – USA Baseball announced Tuesday the names of the 30 semifinalists for the 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (GSA). This year will mark the 32nd consecutive year that the award has been presented to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player

Today also marks the second year in a row that GoldenSpikesAward.com – powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball – will be the online home for the award. The Web site features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past-winner photo galleries, and photographs and video highlights for the 2009 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 30 players is narrowed to five finalists on Tuesday, June 2, en route to the announcement of this year’s winner on Tuesday, July 14.

The 2009 GSA will be awarded live at MLB’s All-Star FanFest in St. Louis as part of a production by Major League Baseball and MLBAM. Online footage of the event will be found shortly thereafter, exclusively at GoldenSpikesAward.com and MLB.com.
Headlining this year’s semifinalists are Dustin Ackley (North Carolina), Chris Dominguez (Louisville), Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State), and Alex White (North Carolina), all of whom were also 2008 GSA semifinalists.

Five schools lead the way with two semifinalists each (Arizona State, Indiana, Louisville, San Diego State, and North Carolina). In total, 25 colleges and universities are represented on the 2009 semifinalist list. Among conferences, the Atlantic Coast Conference is tops with five players on the list, and the Big XII has four.

In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it will follow the same model again in 2009. After accepting nominations from sports information directors across the country, a committee voted to determine the 30 semifinalists. The names of the 30 semifinalists will now be forwarded to a voting body of 125 who will select the five finalists and the eventual 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner.

“USA Baseball is proud to recognize the 30 semifinalists and their respective baseball programs for the 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. “With 25 schools and 14 conferences represented, it is clear that the level of competition within college baseball and for the Golden Spikes Award is as high as ever.”

Name, Class, Pos., School
Dustin Ackley, Jr., 1B/OF, North Carolina
Eric Arnett, Jr., RHP, Indiana
Buddy Baumann, Jr., LHP, Missouri State
Kyle Bellamy, Jr., RHP, Miami
Daniel Bibona, Jr., LHP, UC-Irvine
Bryce Brentz, So., OF/RHP, Middle Tennessee
Louis Coleman, Sr., RHP, LSU
Chris Dominguez, Jr., 3B, Louisville
Josh Fellhauer, Jr., OF, Cal State-Fullerton
Kyle Gibson, Jr., RHP, Missouri
Jason Kipnis, Jr., OF, Arizona State
Marc Krauss, Jr., INF/OF, Ohio
Mike Leake, Jr., RHP, Arizona State
Justin Marks, Jr., LHP, Louisville
Bryan Marquez, Sr., 2B, New Mexico State
Kent Matthes, Sr., OF, Alabama
Deck McGuire, So., RHP, Georgia Tech
Tommy Mendonca, Jr., 3B, Fresno State
A.J. Morris, Jr., RHP, Kansas State
Josh Phegley, Jr., C, Indiana
Rich Poythress, Jr., 1B, Georgia
Brooks Raley, So., LHP/OF, Texas A&M
Addison Reed, So., RHP, San Diego State
Anthony Rendon, Fr., 3B, Rice
Tony Sanchez, Jr., C, Boston College
Angelo Songco, Jr., OF, Loyola Marymount
Stephen Strasburg, Jr., RHP, San Diego State
Alex White, Jr., RHP, North Carolina
Alex Wimmers, So., RHP, Ohio State
J.T. Wise, Sr., C/INF, Oklahoma