DURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball announced its 55-player preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list on Thursday, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2020 season. The 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 11 in Omaha, Nebraska, for the second consecutive year.
The 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 2020 watch list is two-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State). In 2019, Torkelson became one of 29 athletes since 2007 to be named a semifinalist more than once, including past Golden Spikes Award winners Strephen Strasburg (2009), Trevor Bauer (2011), Mike Zunino (2012), Kris Bryant (2013), Brendan McKay (2017) and Andrew Vaughn (2019).
Joining Torkelson are six additional 2019 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists, including Reid Detmers (Louisville), Nick Gonzalez (New Mexico State), Emerson Hancock (Georgia), Asa Lacy (Texas A&M) and Austin Martin (Vanderbilt). Additionally, Patrick Bailey (NC State), Tanner Burns (Auburn), Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas), Casey Martin (Arkansas), Max Meyer (Minnesota) and Torkelson have all been named to the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list for the second consecutive year in 2020.
"We are thrilled to kick off the 2020 amateur baseball season and the forty-third year of the Golden Spikes Award with the fifty-five-player preseason watch list," said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. "This year's initial list features an incredible amount of talent and we cannot wait to follow each player's journey throughout what is sure to be a highly competitive and exciting season."
The 2020 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). Josh Elvir (Angelo State) and Luke Summers (Fontbonne) represent NCAA Divisions II and III, respectively, while Josh Sears (Freed-Hardeman) represents the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) on the preseason list.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Harvard-Westlake High School) and Robert Hassell (Independence High School) are the only amateur high school baseball players recognized by the advisory board in 2020. Crow-Armstrong is the second Harvard-Westlake High School player to be named to the preseason watch list, following Jack Flaherty, who was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list as a high school athlete at Harvard-Westlake in 2014.
Eighteen different collegiate athletic conferences are represented on the 2020 preseason watch list with six of those conferences boasting multiple selections, including the American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences.
Arizona State and Vanderbilt lead the list of schools represented on the 2020 list with each school boasting three players, while Arkansas, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Tennessee, UCLA and Wake Forest are all represented by a pair of athletes.
Oregon State's Adley Rutschman took home the prestigious award last year, 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 nominations and voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2020. Amateur baseball fans will be able to nominate their favorite players to be in consideration for the 2020 award starting February 14 until April 6 on GoldenSpikesAward.com, prior to the announcement of the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. In addition, fans will once again be able to vote for their favorite players, starting on May 14 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists.
USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on May 28 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through June 7.
The Winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named Thursday, June 11. To stay up-to-date on the 2020 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2020 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
February 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award fan nominations begin
April 6: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award fan nominations end
April 9: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list announced
May 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, fan voting begins
May 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
May 28: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, fan voting begins
June 7: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends
June 11: 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; Class; Position; School
Logan Allen; Jr.; LHP; Florida International
Patrick Bailey; Jr.; C; NC State
Ian Bedell; Jr.; RHP; Missouri
Alex Binelas; So.; IF; Louisville
Tyler Brown; Jr.; RHP; Vanderbilt
Alec Burleson; Jr.; LHP/IF; East Carolina
Tanner Burns; Jr.; RHP; Auburn
Daniel Cabrera; Jr.; OF; LSU
Burl Carraway; Jr.; LHP; Dallas Baptist
Cade Cavalli; Jr.; RHP/IF; Oklahoma
Colton Cowser; So.; OF; Sam Houston State
Jeff Criswell; Jr.; RHP; Michigan
Garrett Crochet; Jr.; LHP; Tennessee
Pete Crow-Armstrong; Sr.; OF; Harvard-Westlake High School
Adrian Del Castillo; So.; C; Miami
Trenton Denholm; Jr.; RHP; UC Irvine
Reid Detmers; Jr.; LHP; Louisville
Blake Dunn; Jr.; OF; Western Michigan
Josh Elvir; Sr.; OF; Angelo State
Justin Foscue; Jr.; IF; Mississippi State
Nick Frasso; Jr.; RHP; Loyola Marymount
JT Ginn; So.; RHP; Mississippi State
Nick Gonzales; Jr.; IF; New Mexico State
Emerson Hancock; Jr.; RHP; Georgia
Hudson Haskin; So.; OF; Tulane
Robert Hassell; Sr.; OF/1B/LHP; Independence High School
Cole Henry; So.; RHP; LSU
Bryce Jarvis; Jr.; RHP/IF; Duke
Heston Kjerstad; Jr.; OF; Arkansas
Brian Klein; Sr.; IF; Texas Tech
Asa Lacy; Jr.; LHP; Texas A&M
Chris Lanzilli; Jr.; OF; Wake Forest
Nick Loftin; Jr.; IF; Baylor
Austin Martin; Jr.; IF; Vanderbilt
Casey Martin; Jr.; IF; Arkansas
Chris McMahon; Jr.; RHP; Miami
Max Meyer; Jr.; RHP; Minnesota
Garrett Mitchell; Jr.; OF; UCLA
Carmen Mlodzinski; R-So.; RHP; South Carolina
Jordan Nwogu; Jr.; OF; Michigan
Holden Powell; Jr.; RHP; UCLA
Kumar Rocker; So.; RHP; Vanderbilt
Aaron Sabato; So.; IF; North Carolina
Casey Schmitt; Jr.; IF; San Diego State
Josh Sears; R-Fr.; INF; Freed-Hardeman
Bobby Seymour; Jr.; IF; Wake Forest
Alerick Soularie; Jr.; OF; Tennessee
Luke Summers; Jr.; RHP/OF; Fontbonne
Spencer Torkelson; Jr.; IF; Arizona State
CJ Van Eyk; Jr.; RHP; Florida State
Austin Wells; So.; C; Arizona
Cole Wilcox; So.; RHP; Georgia
Alika Williams; Jr.; IF; Arizona State
Ethan Wilson; So.; OF; South Alabama
Gage Workman; Jr.; IF; Arizona State
