CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, continuing the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. The list features 45 of the nation’s best athletes from both college and high school baseball.
Twenty-four athletes have played their way onto the list since the announcement of the Preseason Watch List on February 10. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue maintaining a rolling list of athletes throughout the season, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before the announcement of the semifinalists on May 22.
“The amateur baseball season has been nothing short of spectacular so far,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball’s Executive Director and CEO. “The talent on display has been very impressive across the country, and we are excited to recognize the nation’s best performers to this point in the season. We look forward to watching the rest of the season unfold before we name the newest Golden Spikes Award winner in June.”
The 2023 list features seven players from last season’s Midseason Watch List, including Dylan Crews (LSU), who is appearing on his fifth Golden Spikes Award watch list overall. Additionally, Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Vanderbilt), Chase Burns (Tennessee), Chase Dollander (Tennessee), Jake Gelof (Virginia), Nolan Schanuel (Florida Atlantic), and Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) return to the list after earning spots on last year’s Midseason Watch List.
Tanner Hall (Southern Miss) and Tommy White (LSU) join Burns, Crews, Gelof, and Wilson as 2022 semifinalists who made their way to the 2023 midseason list. Paul Skenes (LSU), a semifinalist in 2021, also earned a spot on this year’s midseason list.
For the second consecutive year, a school has placed three starting pitchers on the midseason list. After Tennessee had a trio of starters last year, Wake Forest’s Josh Hartle, Rhett Lowder, and Sean Sullivan appear on this year’s list after posting a combined 16-2 record and all owning sub-2.00 ERAs in the first half of the season.
Five non-Division I athletes appear on this year’s Midseason Watch List, including three high school standouts in Max Clark (Franklin HS), Walker Jenkins (South Brunswick HS), and Noble Meyer (Jesuit HS). Brady Cerkownyk (Connors State) and Mitch Farris (Wingate) join the trio of prep stars in attempting to become only the third non-NCAA Division I player to win the Golden Spikes Award.
Thirty-three schools and 13 conferences are represented on the 2023 midseason list. LSU and Wake Forest, the nation’s consensus top two ranked teams, each boast three players to lead all programs. The list also features eight schools with two players: Florida, Grand Canyon, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Additionally, the SEC leads all conferences with 16 representatives, followed by the ACC with seven and the Pac-12 with four.
Texas’ Ivan Melendez is the most recent winner of the Golden Spikes Award, earning the prestigious honor after a standout campaign in 2022. He joins a group of recent winners, including Kevin Kopps (2021), Adley Rutschman (2019), Andrew Vaughn (2018), Brendan McKay (2017), Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed(2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008) and David Price (2007).
The 2023 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
- May 22: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced and fan voting begins
- June 5: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists’ fan voting ends
- June 7: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced and fan voting begins
- June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists’ fan voting ends
- June 25: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2023. Amateur baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 22 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 7, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.
To stay up to date on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter.
A complete list of the 45-player 2023 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List is as follows:
Name; Position; School; Conference
Kris Armstrong; INF; Jacksonville; ASUN
Enrique Bradfield Jr.; OF; Vanderbilt; SEC
Brody Brecht; RHP; Iowa; Big Ten
Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; SEC
Homer Bush Jr.; OF; Grand Canyon; WAC
Jac Caglianone; LHP/1B; Florida; SEC
Ryan Campos; C; Arizona State; Pac-12
Gavin Casas; 1B; South Carolina; SEC
Brady Cerkownyk; C; Connors State; Region 2
Max Clark; INF; Franklin High School
Charlie Condon; 1B/OF; Georgia; SEC
Jacob Cozart; C; NC State; ACC
Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; SEC
Chase Davis; OF; Arizona; Pac-12
Chase Dollander; RHP; Tennessee; SEC
Mitch Farris; LHP; Wingate; South Atlantic
Cam Fisher; OF; Charlotte; C-USA
Jake Gelof; INF/OF; Virginia; ACC
Jacob Gonzalez; INF; Ole Miss; SEC
Mike Gutierrez; LHP; UC-Santa Barbara; Big West
Hunter Haas; INF; Texas A&M; SEC
Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss; Sun Belt
Josh Hartle; LHP; Wake Forest; ACC
Hunter Hollan; LHP; Arkansas; SEC
Carter Holton; LHP; Vanderbilt; SEC
Walker Jenkins; OF; South Brunswick High School
Rhett Lowder; RHP; Wake Forest; ACC
Nolan McLean; RHP/OF/INF; Oklahoma State; Big 12
Noble Meyer; RHP; Jesuit High School
Braden Montgomery; RHP/OF; Stanford; Pac-12
Yohandy Morales; INF; Miami; ACC
Ethan Petry; OF; South Carolina; SEC
Josh Rivera; INF; Florida; SEC
Nolan Schanuel; INF/OF; FAU; C-USA
Nolan Schubart; OF/1B; Oklahoma State; Big 12
Paul Skenes; RHP; LSU; SEC
Sean Sullivan; LHP; Wake Forest; ACC
Kyle Teel; C/INF; Virginia; ACC
Tommy Troy; INF/OF; Stanford; Pac-12
Brock Vradenburg; INF; Michigan State; Big Ten
Bryson Ware; INF/OF; Auburn; SEC
JJ Wetherholt; INF; West Virginia; Big 12
Tommy White; 3B; LSU; SEC
Jacob Wilson; INF; Grand Canyon; WAC
Trey Yesavage; RHP; East Carolina; AAC
