DURHAM, N.C. – USA Baseball unveiled on Monday the four finalists for the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award sponsored by Major League Baseball and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation. 2016 marks the 39th consecutive year the Golden Spikes Award has been awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.
Of the 25 semifinalists that were voted on by a committee of over 200 voters, Seth Beer (Clemson), Kyle Lewis (Mercer), Corey Ray (Louisville), and Logan Shore (Florida) received the most votes and were named finalists for the award.
All three draft-eligible finalists were selected in the first 50 picks of the 2016 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on June 9.
Fans can continue to stay up to date on the Golden Spikes Award by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com — powered by MLBAM — which serves as the online home for the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the Golden Spikes Award, including news, voting history, past winner photo galleries and photographs of the 2016 finalists.
In addition to becoming the first-ever freshman to win the ACC Player of the Year award, Clemson’s Seth Beer was named National co-Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. Beer led the Tigers with a .369 batting average, 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. He also recorded a 26-game hitting streak and ended the season riding a 60-game on-base streak. Beer was named a first-team All-America by Baseball America and will play for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer.
Taken with the 11th overall pick in the 2016 Draft by the Seattle Mariners, Mercer’s Kyle Lewis was named College Player of the Year by Baseball America. The outfielder batted .395 and belted 20 home runs on his way to being named Southern Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The junior had a 48-game on-base streak and compiled 27 multi-hit performances in 2016, earning him first-team All-America honors from Louisville Slugger.
Louisville’s Corey Ray was named to the All-ACC first team for the second straight season in 2016, powered by a .310 batting average, 15 home runs and 60 RBIs. Ray was the second alumnus in as many years from the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program and the joint USA Baseball and Major League Baseball Breakthrough Series to be selected in the first five picks of the MLB Draft when the Milwaukee Brewers selected him fifth overall in 2016. He finished second in the nation in stolen bases with 44 and started all 62 games for Louisville, hitting at the top of the order. The junior’s impressive numbers earned him a spot on Baseball America’s All-America second team.
Recently named the 2016 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Logan Shore finished the season with a perfect 12-0 record for a Florida team that was ranked No. 1 for the majority of the year. Shore was also named to the All-SEC first team with a 2.24 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched. The junior currently holds the program record with 17 consecutive wins and was named a first-team All-America by Baseball America. The Oakland Athletics drafted him with the 47th overall pick.
The award presentation will air on ESPN’s flagship program, SportsCenter, for the third consecutive year, during the 7 p.m. EDT show. Following the announcement of the award on June 30, all four finalists will be celebrated at the Jonathan Club Los Angeles as part of the 2016 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, Willie Randolph.
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 2016. 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 25 semifinalists was sent to the Golden Spikes Award voting committee last week. The four 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 2016 award by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com and selecting their favorite finalist. Voting for fans and the voting body ends at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 24.
