Tag: Golden Spikes Award

Auburn first baseman named to Golden Spikes award watchlist

Sonny DiChiara is the sixth Auburn player since 2016 to make the watchlist.

An Auburn baseball player has been named to the Golden Spikes Award watchlist.

[autotag]Sonny DiChiara[/autotag], the first baseman for the Tigers and a recent transfer from Samford, has been named as one of 45 players on the midseason watchlist for the award, which is awarded to the best amateur player in baseball across both high school and college by USA Baseball. DiChiara is one of 11 SEC baseball players named to the watchlist.

DiChiara is certainly one to watch. He currently leads the country in batting average (.461) and on-base percentage (.616) and is second in slugging percentage (.921). His on-base percentage is 25 points higher than anyone else in the country. He also leads the team in home runs and is tied for first on the team in doubles.

He’s the sixth player since 2016 to make the midseason watchlist as an Auburn Tiger, the most recent one being pitcher former Auburn pitcher and current Cleveland Guardians player Tanner Burns.

With DiChiara’s streak of hot play, Auburn baseball has started the season 19-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play. The Tigers are currently coming off an in-conference series win against LSU last Saturday.

DiChiara will look to continue his so-far stellar production when Auburn takes on UAB on Tuesday and then begins a three-game in-conference series against the Vanderbilt Commodores beginning on Friday.

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LSU lands three on Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

The Tigers are the only school with three players on the watch list.

LSU begins its baseball season on Friday night against Maine, and this team is getting quite a bit of hype entering the year. The Tigers lead the nation with three players on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List released by USA Baseball on Tuesday.

The announcement of the 55-player watch list begins the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2022 season. The LSU players on the Golden Spikes Award Watch list are, sophomore outfielder Dylan Crews, sophomore first baseman Treā€™ Morgan, and sophomore infielder Jacob Berry.

LSU is the only school with three players on the list and is followed by Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas, and Vanderbilt, all of which have two representatives.

Crews, the 2021 Perfect Game National Freshman of the Year, hit .362 last season with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 42 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases. The product of Longwood, Florida, also received All-America, Freshman All-America, Second-Team All-SEC, and Freshman All-SEC recognition, and he was voted the Louisiana Freshman of the Year.

He finished No. 1 in the SEC last season in total bases (163), No. 3 in batting average, No. 3 in on-base percentage (.453), No. 4 in base hits, No. 4 in runs scored, No. 5 in doubles, and No. 5 in home runs.

Morgan, a product of New Orleans, La., batted .357 (89-for-249) in 2021 with 16 doubles, four triples, six homers, 42 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases. He received Freshman All-America, Second-Team All-SEC, and Freshman All-SEC honors,Ā  and he was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. He finished No. 4 in the SEC in batting average, No. 4 in base hits, No. 4 in runs scored, No. 4 in triples, No. 5 in doubles, No. 5 in stolen bases, and No. 7 in on-base percentage (.441).

Berry, who transferred last summer to LSU from Arizona, led the Wildcats to the 2021 College World Series and the Pac-12 championship.

A product of Queen Creek, Ariz., Berry batted .352 in 2021 with team-highs of 17 homers and 70 RBI, and Collegiate Baseball newspaper named him the National Co-Freshman of the Year. Berry earned first-team All-America recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and he received second-team All-America honors from D1Baseball and Perfect Game.

This will be the first season with Jay Johnson at the helm after longtime coach Paul Mainieri retired at the end of last season following a 15-year tenure. Johnson made the College World Series twice in his previous job at Arizona, and he’ll have quite a bit of talent to work with this offseason.

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Two Longhorns named to Golden Spikes Award watch list

The Golden Spikes Award is given annually to the best player in college baseball.

The Golden Spikes Award is given annually to the best player in college baseball.

On Tuesday, USA Baseball announced its 2022 Gold Spikes watch list which included 55 players across the country.

Texas starting pitchers Pete Hansen and Tanner Witt were named to the list.

Hansen enters the 2022 season as the ace of the Longhorns staff. He boasts a career ERA of 1.58 over 108 innings pitched. Hansen was also named preseason Big 12 pitcher of the year.

Witt will move into the weekend rotation after a phenomenal freshman season out of the bullpen. Opposing batters hit just .194 against Witt’s electric fastball and wipeout breaking ball last year.

12 Longhorns have been named a Gold Spikes Finalist but none have ever captured the award, most recently Kody Clemens in 2018. Hansen and Witt will have the chance to change that this season.

Texas begins the 2022 season on Friday, Feb. 18 at home against the Rice Owls.

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Richard Fitts named to Golden Spikes watch list

The excitement around Auburn pitcher Richard Fitts has continued to grow.

The excitement around Auburn pitcher Richard Fitts has continued to grow. The right-hander was named to the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list, USA Baseball announced Thursday.

It is the fifth time in four years an Auburn player has been named to the watch list with Fitts joining Casey Mize (2018), Tanner Burns (2019, 2020) and Will Holland (2019).

Fitts has already been named Second Team Preseason All-America by D1 Baseball and Third Team Preseason All-America by Baseball America. Additionally, Fitts has been ranked the No. 8 and No. 9 college prospect by Perfect Game and D1 Baseball, respectively, as well as the No. 13 overall prospect by Perfect Game, No. 15 overall prospect by Baseball America and No. 17 overall prospect by MLB.com.

Fitts has made 27 career appearances, including six starts, and has a 6-3 record with a 4.88 ERA. He made appearances in the SEC Tournament, regional, super regional and College World Series as a freshman before going 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in six appearances as a sophomore.

The watch list features 55 of the nationā€™s top amateur players from high school and college baseball and includes 15 players from the SEC.

The award will be presented in July.

Ohio State pitcher named to preseason watch list for Golden Spikes Award

Ohio State pitcher Seth Lonsway is one of 55 players to be named to the Golden Spikes preseason watch list. Baseball is around the corner.

Spring is in the air… unless you live in the midwest and are buried under a foot of snow. Come to think of it, a lot of the country is feeling that right now. Nonetheless, the unofficial start of spring happened yesterday when pitchers and catchers reported to warmer climates in Arizona and Florida.

It won’t be long before the sound of aluminum bats are filling the air on the campus of The Ohio State University in Bill Davis Stadium. As the season gets ready to get underway, one Buckeye pitcher is making a name for himself.

Seth Lonsway, a pitcher for the OSU baseball team has been named to the preseason USA Golden Spikes Award watch list. Lonsway is one of 55 players to be nominated. The Golden Spikes Award is given out annually to the nation’s best amateur baseball player.

Fans will even be able to vote for their favorite player starting on June 8.

Past winners include Andrew Benintendi, Chris Bryant, Trevor Bauer, Bryce Harper, Steven Strasburg, and David Price, among others.

After going undrafted in the 2020 MLB draft, Lonsway decided to come back to Ohio State for another year to hone his craft. The Buckeyes will be glad to have the left-hander back who has gone 9-6 over the course of two years with a 3.59 era and 168 strikeouts.

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Oklahoma’s Cade Cavalli named to Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list

Oklahoma’s ace received some more preseason recognition on the eve of the first pitch of the 2020 season.Ā 

Oklahoma’s ace received some more preseason recognition on the eve of the first pitch of the 2020 season.

Junior right-hander Cade Cavalli has already had plenty of buzz heading into the season, but he was named a member of the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list on Thursday for theĀ top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2020 season.

No Oklahoma player has ever won the Golden Spikes Award.

Cavalli spent the summer of 2019 with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. He made one appearance, throwing 2.2 innings and giving up three hits, two walks, one earned run while striking out one.

This came on the heels of a stellar sophomore campaign. Cavalli was Oklahoma’s Friday night starter, getting 12 starts and throwing 60.1 innings. The junior finished 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA and struck out 59 batters.

Skip Johnson will give the ball to Cavalli for the first time in the 2020 season on Friday. Oklahoma will take on Virginia in Pensacola, Florida, at 6 p.m. CT.

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