DURHAM, N.C. – LSU freshman outfielder Dylan Crews was named by USA Baseball Wednesday to the 2021 Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. The award is given each season to the top amateur baseball player in the country, and the winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be announced in June.
The midseason watch list features 45 of the nation’s top amateur players from the high school and college ranks and includes 34 athletes who have played their way onto the watch list since the preseason list was announced on February 18.
The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on June 8.
Crews, a product of Longwood, Fla., is LSU’s leading hitter, batting .350 (43-for-123) with seven doubles, nine homers, 18 RBI, 32 runs scored, nine stolen bases, a .463 on-base percentage and a .626 slugging percentage.
Crews was named SEC Freshman of the Week on February 23 after he hit .583 (7-for-12) during the season-opening weekend with two homers, three RBI and two runs scored. He also walked four times and recorded an on-base percentage of .688.
In total, 17 different NCAA conferences have at least one athlete on the Golden Spikes list. The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences represented on the midseason watch list with nine athletes, while seven players represent the Atlantic Coast Conference and five hail from the Big 12 Conference.
On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2021 Golden Spikes Award. The list of semifinalists will then be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 24, 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 2021. 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.
To stay up-to-date on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
- June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, voting begins
- June 15: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
- June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, voting begins
- July 2: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
- July: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list is as follows:
Name, Position, School, Conference
Luke Albright; RHP; Kent State; MAC
Spencer Arrighetti; RHP; Louisiana; Sun Belt
Sam Bachman; RHP; Miami (OH); Mid-American
Dru Baker; UTL; Texas Tech; Big 12
Will Bednar; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Jacob Berry; INF; Arizona; Pac-12
Mason Black; RHP; Lehigh; Patriot
Branden Boissiere; OF; Arizona; Pac-12
Rodney Boone; RHP; UC Santa Barbara; Big West
Justin Campbell; RHP/1B; Oklahoma State; Big 12
Wes Clarke; 1B; South Carolina; Southeastern
Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; Southeastern
Henry Davis; C; Louisville; Atlantic Coast
Adrian Del Castillo; C; Miami; Atlantic Coast
Jaden Fein; OF; San Diego State; Mountain West
Sal Frelick; OF; Boston College; Atlantic Coast
Colton Gordon; LHP; UCF; American
Caden Grice; 1B; Clemson; Atlantic Coast
Geremy Guerrero; LHP; Indiana State; Missouri Valley
Steve Hajjar; LHP; Michigan; Big 10
Dominic Hamel; RHP; Dallas Baptist; Missouri Valley
Tyler Hardman; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12
Brady House; SS; Winder-Barrow
Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12
Niko Kavadas; INF; Notre Dame; Atlantic Coast
Dominic Keegan; UTL; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Austin Knight; INF; Charlotte; C-USA
Jordan Lawlar; SS; Dallas Jesuit
Brooks Lee; SS; Cal Poly; Big West
Jack Leiter; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Tommy Mace; RHP; Florida; Southeastern
Ty Madden; RHP; Texas; Big 12
Jordan Marks; RHP; USC Upstate; Big South
Parker Messick; LHP; Florida State; Atlantic Coast
Matt Mikulski; LHP; Fordham; Atlantic 10
Connor Norby; INF; ECU; American
Kevin Parada; C; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast
Zack Raabe; 2B; Minnesota; Big 10
Kumar Rocker; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Landon Sims; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Nick Sinacola; RHP; Maine; Colonial Athletic
Liam Spence; INF; Tennessee; Southeastern
Andrew Taylor; RHP; Central Michigan; MAC
Luis Vargas; OF; Wayland Baptist; Sooner Athletic
(Release via LSU Athletics)