CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball today announced the semifinalists for its Golden Spikes Award, moving one step closer to naming the top amateur baseball player of the year. The 44th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 24 on ESPN.
Twenty-six different universities are represented by the 2022 semifinalists, and the list includes 11 athletes who have played their way into consideration since the midseason list was announced on April 5.
Additionally, the list of semifinalists is headlined by Jacob Berry (LSU) and Jace Jung (Texas Tech) who are both making their second semifinalist list appearances this year after also earning the honor in 2021. Since 2007, 32 athletes have been named a semifinalist more than once in their careers, including past Golden Spikes Award winners Stephen Strasburg (2009), Mike Zunino (2012), Kris Bryant (2013), Brendan McKay (2017), and Andrew Vaughn (2018).
“We are thrilled to honor these accomplished student-athletes as semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award,” said USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler. “With the huge wealth of talent in our sport right now, we are excited to recognize the contributions these athletes are making to their teams and schools. Each of these semifinalists showcase the caliber of players within amateur baseball as they each have excelled both on and off the field. We cannot wait to continue watching their journeys this season.”
Joining LSU teammate Berry as a 2022 semifinalist is Dylan Crews (LSU), meanwhile Cal Poly, Oregon State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech join LSU as the only schools with multiple semifinalists on the list. Those sections include Chase Burns (Tennessee), Gavin Cross (Virginia Tech), Cooper Hjerpe (Oregon State), Brooks Lee (Cal Poly), Trey Lipscomb (Tennessee), Jacob Melton (Oregon State), Tanner Schobel (Virginia Tech), and Drew Thorpe (Cal Poly).
Also earning semifinalist honors in 2022 is Ryan McCarty (Penn State Abington), who put together an unmatched regular season in which he won the NCAA Division III Triple Crown and paced college baseball offensively throughout the year. McCarty finished his historic senior season with the DIII single-season record for total bases (220) and led all of the NCAA in batting average (.529), hits (100), RBIs (91), slugging percentage (1.164), and total bases, while his 29 home runs and 89 runs scored led Division III and tied for the top mark in all of NCAA baseball. He looks to become the first Golden Spikes Award winner from a non-Division I program since Bryce Harper won the award in 2010.
In total, at least one athlete from 12 different NCAA conferences has earned semifinalist honors this year. The Atlanta Coast Conference leads all conferences represented with seven athletes on the list, while six players represent the Southeastern Conference, four hail from the Big 12, and three compete in the Pac-12.
Arkansas’ Kevin Kopps took home the prestigious award most recently in 2021, joining a group of recent winners that includes Adley Rutschman (2019), Vaughn (2018), McKay (2017), Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Bryce Harper (2010), Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008) and David Price (2007).
Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 150 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 8, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The winner of the 44th Golden Spikes Award will be named on Friday, June 24, on ESPN. To stay up-to-date on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2022 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
- June 6: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
- June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, fan voting begins
- June 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends
- June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the 2022 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists is as follows:
Name, Position, School, Conference
- Chris Alleyne; OF; Maryland; Big Ten Conference
- Jacob Berry; INF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
- Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
- Justin Campbell; RHP; Oklahoma State; Big 12 Conference
- Carlos Contreras; OF; Sam Houston; Western Athletic Conference
- Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
- Gavin Cross; OF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Sonny DiChiara; INF; Auburn; Southeastern Conference
- Kendal Ewell; OF; Eastern Kentucky; Atlantic Sun Conference
- Jake Gelof; INF; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference
- Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss.; Conference USA
- Thomas Harrington; RHP; Campbell; Big South Conference
- Cooper Hjerpe; LHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
- Gabriel Hughes; RHP; Gonzaga; West Coast Conference
- Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference
- Dominic Keegan; UTIL; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
- Ryan Lasko; OF; Rutgers; Big Ten Conference
- Brooks Lee; SS; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
- Trey Lipscomb; INF; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
- Ryan McCarty; INF; Penn State Abington; United East
- Ivan Melendez; INF; Texas; Big 12 Conference
- Jacob Melton; OF/INF; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
- Parker Messick; LHP; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Kevin Parada; C; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Tanner Schobel; INF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Daniel Susac; C; Arizona; Pac-12 Conference
- Drew Thorpe; RHP; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
- Max Wagner; INF; Clemson; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Tommy White; INF; NC State; Atlantic Coast Conference
- Jacob Wilson; INF; Grand Canyon; Western Athletic Conference
