CARY, N.C. — USA Baseball announced its 55-player preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list today, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2021 season. The 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be presented in July.
The 2021 preseason watch list features 55 of the nation’s top amateur players from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of players, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season.
Headlining the 2021 watch list is top MLB Draft prospect Kumar Rocker (Vanderbilt), who is making his second consecutive appearance on the preseason watch list this year. Rocker is joined by seven other 2020 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list members, including Alex Binelas (Louisville), Colton Cowser (Sam Houston), Adrian Del Castillo (Miami), Trenton Denholm (UC Irvine), Josh Elvir (Angelo State), Bobby Seymour (Wake Forest), and Ethan Wilson (South Alabama). Additionally, Kevin Abel (Oregon State) returns to the list in 2021 after being named to the 2019 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the Golden Spikes Award back this year and kicking off the 2021 amateur baseball season with the fifty-five-player preseason watch list,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The athletes who make up this year’s initial watch list have an incredible amount of talent and we are looking forward to their return to the diamond so we can follow their journeys during what will undoubtedly be a highly competitive season.”
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list features five athletes that will look to become just the third player from a non-NCAA Division I school to win the award, following in the footsteps of Alex Fernandez (1990) and Bryce Harper (2010). Elvir returns to the preseason watch list for the second year in a row representing NCAA Division II, while Mo Hanley (Adrian) and Luis Vargas (Wayland Baptist) represent NCAA Division III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA), respectively.
Jordan Lawlar (Dallas Jesuit High School) and Andrew Painter (Calvary Christian High School) are the only high school baseball players recognized by the advisory board for the 2021 preseason watch list. Lawlar and Painter are the first players from their respective schools to be named to the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list.
Sixteen different collegiate athletic conferences are represented on the 2021 preseason watch list with eight of those conferences boasting multiple selections, including the American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Big West, Pac-12, Sun Belt and Southeastern Conferences.
Florida leads the list of schools represented with three players on the 2021 list, followed closely by Arkansas, Boston College, Louisville, Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Wake Forest, which all boast a pair of athletes.
Oregon State’s Adley Rutschman took home the prestigious award most recently in 2019, joining a group of recent winners that include Andrew Vaughn (2018), Brendan McKay (2017), Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008) and David Price (2007).
Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2021. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting on June 8 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 24 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through July 2.
The winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named in July. To stay up-to-date on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
April 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list announced
June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, fan voting begins
June 15: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, fan voting begins
July 2: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends
July: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the 55-player USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list is as follows:
Name; Position; School; Conference
Andrew Abbott; LHP; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Kevin Abel; RHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Hunter Barco; LHP; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Alex Binelas; 3B; Louisville; Atlantic Coast Conference
Mason Black; RHP; Lehigh; Patriot League
Tyler Black; 2B; Wright State; Horizon League
Brooks Carlson; 2B; Samford; SoCon Conference
Parker Chavers; OF; Coastal Carolina; Sun Belt Conference
Maxwell Costes; 1B; Maryland; Big 10 Conference
Colton Cowser; OF; Sam Houston; Southland Conference
Ryan Cusick; RHP; Wake Forest; Atlantic Coast Conference
Henry Davis; C; Louisville; Atlantic Coast Conference
Adrian Del Castillo; C; Miami; Atlantic Coast Conference
Trenton Denholm; RHP; UC Irvine; Big West Conference
Josh Elvir; OF; Angelo State; Lone Star Conference
Jud Fabian; OF; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Max Ferguson; 2B; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Richard Fitts; RHP; Auburn; Southeastern Conference
Christian Franklin; OF; Arkansas; Southeastern Conference
Sal Frelick; OF; Boston College; Atlantic Coast Conference
Zack Gelof; 3B; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Hunter Goodman; C/UTL; Memphis; American Athletic Conference
Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference
Steve Hajjar; LHP; Michigan; Big 10 Conference
Mo Hanley; OF/LHP; Adrian; Michigan Intercollegiate Conference
Jaden Hill; RHP; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Gunnar Hoglund; RHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern Conference
Grant Holman; RHP/1B; California; Pac-12 Conference
Jordan Lawlar; INF; Dallas Jesuit High School
Jack Leiter; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Seth Lonsway; LHP; Ohio State; Big 10 Conference
Tommy Mace; RHP; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Christian MacLeod; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern Conference
Ty Madden; RHP; Texas; Big 12 Conference
Robby Martin; OF; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Michael McGreevy; RHP; UC Santa Barbara; Big West
Matt McLain; SS; UCLA; Pac-12 Conference
Troy Melton; RHP; San Diego State; Mountain West Conference
Robert Moore; 2B; Arkansas; Southeastern Conference
Cody Morissette; 3B; Boston College; Atlantic Coast Conference
Dylan Neuse; OF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference
Doug Nikhazy; LHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern Conference
Braden Olthoff; RHP; Tulane; American Athletic Conference
Andrew Painter; RHP; Calvary Christian High School
Connor Pavolony; C; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Zach Pettway; RHP; UCLA; Pac-12 Conference
Connor Prielipp; LHP; Alabama; Southeastern Conference
Kumar Rocker; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Bobby Seymour; 1B; Wake Forest; Atlantic Coast Conference
Alex Toral; 1B; Miami; Atlantic Coast Conference
Jose Torres; INF; NC State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Luis Vargas; OF; Wayland Baptist; Sooner Athletic Conference
Luke Waddell; SS; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Jordan Wicks; LHP; Kansas State; Big 12 Conference
Ethan Wilson; OF; South Alabama; Sun Belt Conference
