The USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award is given out annually to the top all-around player in amateur baseball.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – USA Baseball unveiled its 2023 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List on Friday, with Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> and right-hander Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> among the 55 players to make the cut.
Awarded to the top all-around player in amateur baseball, the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List includes 55 athletes from the high school and college ranks. Moving forward, the Golden Spikes Award 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 their performances throughout the season.
“We are thrilled to begin the amateur baseball season with the announcement of the fifty-five-player Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “The student-athletes on this list are some of the nation’s best and brightest, both on and off the field. We look forward to watching them compete in what will surely be an exciting baseball season.”
Florida has produced one Golden Spikes Award winner in program history. Catcher Mike Zunino won the award in 2012 after batting .322 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI during his junior campaign.
Entering the year as a potential Golden Spikes Award front-runner and Unanimous First Team Preseason All-American, Langford is coming off one of the greatest seasons in the history of the Orange & Blue. While slashing .355/.447/.867, the Trenton, Fla. native tied Florida’s single-season home run record with an SEC-leading 26 big flies. The 2022 First Team All-American started all 66 games for the Gators a season ago, finishing with three triples, nine doubles, 73 runs, 63 RBI and seven steals. Perhaps most impressively, he turned in a 1.000 fielding percentage across 125 chances while playing in the outfield for the first time in his career.
Shifting to Waldrep, the Southern Miss transfer is primed for his first campaign in Gator Country. Highly regarded as one of the top arms in the nation, Waldrep was named a 2022 Third Team All-American by D1Baseball after churning out 90 frames of 3.20 ERA ball with 140 strikeouts – translating to 14.0 strikeouts per nine innings. The Thomasville, Ga. native was equally brilliant in limited action as a freshman in 2021, working to a 3.35 ERA and .217 batting average against with 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings of work. That track record carried into this past fall, where Waldrep fired four scoreless frames against Georgia and Stetson, highlighted by an immaculate inning against the Hatters.
The 2023 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
• April 5: Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List announced
• May 22: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 5: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
• June 7: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists’ fan voting ends
• June 25: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2023. Amateur baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 22 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 7, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.
To stay up to date on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter.
About Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. Following the first-ever presentation of the Award to Bob Horner of Arizona State, the Golden Spikes Award has been presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship.
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