FROM USA BASEBALL RELEASE
DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball announced Tuesday the names of the three finalists for the 2013 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. This summer marks the 36th consecutive year that the GSA will be presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
Tyler Beede, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Vanderbilt; Kris Bryant a junior infielder from San Diego; and Colin Moran, a junior infielder out of North Carolina, received the most votes among 30 semifinalists last week, as voted on by a committee of more than 200 members.
Each of the three players participated in the NCAA Regionals this past weekend, with Vanderbilt and North Carolina advancing to Super Regional competition, while San Diego was eliminated following play in the Los Angeles Regional.
Additionally, Bryant and Moran are expected to be drafted early in Thursday’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, while Beede, as a sophomore, is not eligible for the draft until 2014.
For the first time ever, the GSA will be presented at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and MLB Network will televise the announcement for the third consecutive year. The presentation will air live on The Rundown starting at 2:00 p.m. ET, and feature interviews, video highlights and the announcement of the winner. The presentation will also be simulcast live on MLB.com and GoldenSpikesAward.com.
Fans can continue to stay up to date on the GSA by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com — powered by MLB Advanced Media — which serves as the online home for the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past winner photo galleries, and photographs and video highlights for the 2013 finalists.
“Once again our voting committee did a fantastic job of selecting three talented finalists,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO, Paul Seiler. “Tyler Beede, Kris Bryant and Colin Moran all had outstanding seasons for their respective schools, and we are excited to honor them for both their individual accolades and their team’s on-field success.”
Beede was voted a 2013 Golden Spikes Award finalist after leading the nation in wins. The Commodores righty tallied a 14-0 record with 101 strikeouts in 98 and one-third innings pitched. A native of Auburn, Mass., Beede posted a 2.20 ERA and allowed hitters just a .177 batting average against him.
Bryant was voted a 2013 Golden Spikes Award finalist after a record-setting season for the Toreros. The Las Vegas native led the nation in home runs, runs scored, walks and slugging percentage. His 31 home runs set an NCAA single-season record in the BBCOR era. Bryant was tabbed the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year and the co-West Coast Conference Player of the Year after hitting .329 with 62 runs batted in.
Moran was voted a 2013 Golden Spikes Award finalist after tallying a nation’s-best 85 RBIs. The Rye, N.Y., native batted .351 with 13 home runs as part of the nucleus that led the Tar Heels to an ACC Championship and the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. The 2013 ACC Player of the Year finished fourth in the nation with 69 runs scored.
The three finalists advanced by receiving the most votes during the semifinalists balloting round. During the round, 33 different student-athletes received votes to become a GSA finalist. Following the three finalists, Oklahoma’s Jonathan Gray finished fourth in voting, followed in order by Mark Appel (Stanford), Aaron Nola (Louisiana State), D.J. Peterson (New Mexico), Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton), Tony Kemp (Vanderbilt) and Ryne Stanek (Arkansas). Additionally, Matt Boyd (Oregon State), Michael Ford (Princeton), Hunter Renfroe (Mississippi State) and Carlos Rodon (North Carolina State) received votes via the voting committee’s write-in option.
Following the presentation of the award on July 19, all three finalists will be celebrated at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles as part of the 2013 Rod Dedeaux Award Dinner. Hosted by the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the dinner will honor the Golden Spikes Award finalists, the Rod Dedeaux Award winner, and the Rod Dedeaux USA Baseball Coach of the Year award winner.
In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it follows the same model again in 2013. After working closely with sports information directors and amateur baseball media across the country to determine watch lists and the top-performing athletes, a list of 30 semifinalists was sent to the GSA voting committee last week. The three players that received the most votes advanced to the finalist round, and beginning today, the committee will have the opportunity to vote for the winner.
Fans will once again be able to vote for the 2013 GSA by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com and selecting their favorite finalist. Voting for fans and the voting body ends at 5:00 p.m. ET, on Friday, June 14.
About the Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. Following the first-ever presentation of the Award to Bob Horner of Arizona State, the Golden Spikes Award has been presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2012 Golden Spikes Award winner was Mike Zunino of the University of Florida. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg (’09), Buster Posey (’08), David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), Jered Weaver (’04), Rickie Weeks (’03) and Mark Kotsay (’95). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Pat Burrell (’98), Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’8 5), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Horner (’78). For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com. Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit USABaseball.com.
