This release was originally published at usabaseball.com
CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball Friday announced the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list, beginning the process of identifying the best amateur baseball player in the nation for the 2024 season.
The preseason list includes 55 players across high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award’s watch list on a rolling basis, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.
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“It is always an exciting time when we kick off the amateur baseball season with the announcement of the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “With baseball season right around the corner, we look forward to following along as these fifty-five student-athletes and many more compete in yet another thrilling year of amateur baseball.”
The list features eight players who were named Golden Spikes Award semifinalists a season ago, including 2023 finalist Jac Caglianone (Florida). Caglianone is joined by Charlie Condon (Georgia), Ethan Petry (South Carolina), Hagen Smith (Arkansas), and Tommy White (LSU) as 2023 semifinalists from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on this year’s preseason list.
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JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia) also earned a spot on the preseason list following a semifinalist run last spring, while a pair of Wake Forest teammates–Josh Hartle and Nick Kurtz–round out the eight semifinalists from 2023 who appear on this year’s preseason list.
Hartle and Kurtz are two of four Wake Forest players honored on the 2024 preseason watch list, joining Chase Burns and Seaver King to give the top-ranked Demon Deacons a list-leading four players. Tennessee follows closely with three players: Billy Amick, Drew Beam, and Christian Moore.
Beam is one of eight players appearing on the preseason list for a second consecutive year. Burns, Carter Holton (Vanderbilt), Kurtz, Vance Honeycutt (North Carolina), Sam Kulasingam (Air Force), Braden Montgomery (Texas A&M), and White all also return to the Preseason Watch List for the second season in a row.
Additionally, five players on this year’s preseason watch list will look to join Alex Fernandez (1990) and Bryce Harper (2010) as the only players from a non-NCAA Division I school to win the Golden Spikes Award. Jake Hjelle (Minnesota-Crookston), Tanner Reaves (Blinn CC), and Brett Sanchez (Belhaven) all represent different levels of college baseball, while high schoolers Cam Caminiti(Saguaro High School) and Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep) also earned their spot on the preseason watch list.
Overall, 41 schools and 16 conferences are represented on the 2024 preseason watch list. In addition to Wake Forest’s four players and Tennessee’s trio, nine other schools put multiple players on the 55-man list. The SEC leads all conferences with 15 players, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 10 and the Big 12 Conference with nine.
LSU’s Dylan Crews is the most recent winner of the Golden Spikes Award, earning the prestigious honor after helping lead the Tigers to a Men's College World Series title in 2023. He joins an elite group of recent winners including Ivan Melendez (2022), 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), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008) and David Price (2007).
The 2024 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
- April 4: Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List announced
- May 20: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, and fan voting begins
- June 3: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
- June 5: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, and fan voting begins
- June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists’ fan voting ends
- June 23: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2024. Baseball fans can vote for their favorite players onGoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 20 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 5, and fan voting will once again open atGoldenSpikesAward.combefore closing on June 21.
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A complete list of the 55-player 2024 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list is as follows:
| Name | Position | School |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Ager | RHP | UC Santa Barbara |
| Wehiwa Aloy | INF | Arkansas |
| Billy Amick | INF | Tennessee |
| Ethan Anderson | C/UTIL | Virginia |
| Travis Bazzana | INF | Oregon State |
| Kevin Bazzell | C/INF | Texas Tech |
| Drew Beam | RHP | Tennessee |
| Derek Bender | C/INF | Coastal Carolina |
| Carson Benge | OF/RHP | Oklahoma State |
| Brody Brecht | RHP | Iowa |
| Chase Burns | RHP | Wake Forest |
| Jac Caglianone | 1B/LHP | Florida |
| Cam Caminiti | LHP/OF | Saguaro HS (AZ) |
| Cam Cannarella | OF | Clemson |
| Charlie Condon | 1B/OF | Georgia |
| Jacob Cozart | C | NC State |
| Kaelen Culpepper | C/INF | Kansas State |
| Randy Flores | INF | Alabama State |
| Rodney Green Jr. | OF | California |
| Konnor Griffin | OF/RHP | Jackson Prep (MS) |
| Lawson Harrill | OF | Campbell |
| Josh Hartle | LHP | Wake Forest |
| Jake Hjelle | Of | Minnesota-Crookston (DII) |
| Luke Holman | RHP | Louisiana State |
| Carter Holton | LHP | Vanderbilt |
| Vance Honeycutt | OF | North Carolina |
| Jeremiah Jenkins | INF | Maine |
| Ryan Johnson | RHP | Dallas Baptist |
| Lebarron Johnson Jr. | RHP | Texas |
| Dakota Jordan | OF | Mississippi State |
| Gavin Kash | INF | Texas Tech |
| Seaver King | INF | Wake Forest |
| Sam Kulasingam | INF | Air Force |
| Nick Kurtz | INF/OF | Wake Forest |
| Jace LaViolette | OF | Texas A&M |
| Shane Lewis | OF | Troy |
| Caleb Lomavita | C | California |
| Cole Messina | C | South Carolina |
| Braden Montgomery | OF/RHP | Texas A&M |
| Christian Moore | INF | Tennessee |
| Malcolm Moore | C | Stanford |
| Tyson Neighbors | RHP | Kansas State |
| Griff O'Ferrall | INF | Virginia |
| Ethan Petry | OF/INF | South Carolina |
| Tanner Reaves | INF | Blinn CC (JUCO) |
| Brett Sanchez | RHP | Belhaven (DIII) |
| Nolan Schubart | OF | Oklahoma State |
| Mike Sirota | OF | Northeastern |
| Hagen Smith | LHP | Arkansas |
| Devin Taylor | OF | Indiana |
| Payton Tolle | LHP/INF | TCU |
| JJ Wetherholt | INF | West Virginia |
| Tommy White | 3B | LSU |
| Trey Yesavage | RHP | East Carolina |
| Gage Ziehl | RHP | Miami |
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