Collins, Garcia Named to Golden Spikes Watch List
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami juniors Zack Collins and Bryan Garcia were among the 60 players named to the midseason watch list for the 2016 Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced Wednesday.
Miami was one of just eight schools to have multiple representatives on the list.
One of the nation’s most decorated sluggers, Collins opened the week as the nation’s active leader in career walks (143) and career on-base percentage (.467). He also ranked third in career home runs (34) and third in career RBI (163) among active players.
Collins, a Rawlings/ABCA third-team All-America a season ago, ranked fourth in the ACC in batting average (.410), tied for fifth in home runs (eight) and RBI (39), first in walks (44), first in on-base percentage (.580) and third in slugging percentage (.710) in games through April 19.
Garcia, the team’s closer since arriving on campus prior to the 2014 season, ranks third in all-time saves at Miami with 35. He is the nation’s active leader in career saves, and was a third-team NCBWA All-America as a freshman in 2014. His 10 saves in 2016 were the most in the ACC through April 19.
Garcia needs just four more saves to move into a tie with George Huguet for first place in Hurricanes history (39). In 18 appearances this season, Garcia has recorded a 2-0 record with a 2.08 ERA. He has struck out 36 batters compared to just seven walks, and has held opposing batters to a .133 average.
Collins and Garcia would become just the second Golden Spikes Award winner in program history; Pat Burrell won the award during his junior year of 1998. David Thompson was a semifinalist for the award in 2015.
GoldenSpikesAward.com, created in 2008 and powered by MLB Advanced Media, is the online home of the award. The web site features content devoted exclusively to the Golden Spikes Award, including news, a weekly player spotlight, voting history and past winner photo galleries.
The anticipated timeline for the 2016 Golden Spikes Award announcements is as follows:
– Wednesday, June 1: 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, voting begins
– Wednesday, June 8: 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalist voting ends
– Monday, June 13: 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, voting begins
– Saturday, June 25: 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
– Thursday, June 30: 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the 60-player USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list is as follows:
Peter Alonso, Jr., IF, Florida
Brandon Bailey, Jr., P, Gonzaga
Luken Baker, Fr., IF/P, TCU
Elliott Barzilli, Jr., IF, TCU
Seth Beer, Fr., OF, Clemson
Dustin Beggs, Sr., P, Kentucky
Grant Bennett, Sr., P, Troy
Ryan Boldt, Jr., OF, Nebraska
Geoffrey Bramblett, Jr., P, Alabama
J.B. Bukauskas, So., P, North Carolina
Jake Burger, So., IF, Missouri State
Corbin Burnes, Jr., P, Saint Mary’s
C.J. Chatham, Jr., IF, Florida Atlantic
Zack Collins, Jr., C, Miami
Will Craig, Jr., IF/P, Wake Forest
Brett Cumberland, So., C, California
Chris DeVito, Jr., C, New Mexico
Nick Feight, So., C, UNCW
Jameson Fisher, RS-Jr., C, Southeastern Louisiana
Jake Fishman, Jr., IF/P, Union College
Bryan Garcia, Jr., P, Miami
Luke Gillingham, Sr., P, Navy
Anfernee Grier, Jr., OF, Auburn
Thomas Hackimer, Sr., P, St. John’s
Darick Hall, Jr., IF/P, Dallas Baptist
Adam Haseley, So., P/OF, Virginia
Kevin Hill, R-Sr., P, South Alabama
Keston Hiura, Fr., IF/ OF, UC Irvine
Tanner Houck, So., P, Missouri
Dakota Hudson, Jr., P, Mississippi State
Danny Hudzina, Sr., IF, Western Kentucky
Logan Ice, Jr., C, Oregon State
Griffin Jax, Jr., P, Air Force
Connor Jones, Jr., P, Virginia
Jeren Kendall, So., OF, Vanderbilt
Evan Kruczynski, Jr., P, ECU
Eric Lauer, Jr., P, Kent State
Brandon Lawson, Jr., P, South Florida
Kyle Lewis, Jr., OF, Mercer
Joey Lucchesi, Sr., P, SE Missouri State
Darren McCaughan, So., P, Long Beach St.
Brendan McKay, So., IF/P, Louisville
Sheldon Neuse, Jr., IF/P, Oklahoma
Stephen Nogosek, Jr., P, Oregon
Chris Okey, Jr., C, Clemson
Heath Quinn, Jr., OF, Samford
Corey Ray, Jr., OF, Louisville
Bryan Reynolds, Jr., OF, Vanderbilt
Blake Rutherford, HS-Sr., OF, Chaminade Prep
Clarke Schmidt, So., P, South Carolina
Ryan Scott, Sr., OF, Arkansas Little Rock
Nick Senzel, Jr., IF, Tennessee
Colton Shaver, So.,C, BYU
Logan Shore, Jr., P, Florida
Nick Solak, Jr., IF, Louisville
Jacob Stevens, Fr., P, Boston College
Matt Thaiss, Jr., C, Virginia
Braden Webb, Fr., P, South Carolina
Boomer White, Jr., IF, Texas A&M
Kyle Wright, So., P, Vanderbilt
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. The 2015 Golden Spikes Award winner was Andrew Benintendi of the University of Arkansas. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Kris Bryant (’13), Mike Zunino (’12), Trevor Bauer (’11), Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg (’09), Buster Posey (’08), David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), Jered Weaver (’04), Rickie Weeks (’03) and Mark Kotsay (’95). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Pat Burrell (’98), Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’85), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Horner (’78). For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com. Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Facebook, Instagram @goldenspikesaward, and Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Premier12 and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives including PLAYBALL and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit the organization’s official websites: USABaseball.com, PLAYBALL.org, PitchSmart.org, GoldenSpikesAward.com and USABaseballShop.com.
