CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami catcher Adrian Del Castillo and first baseman Alex Toral were named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, as announced Thursday by USA Baseball, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2021 season.
The preseason watch list features 55 of the nation’s best amateur players from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of players, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season. Miami is one of 11 schools with multiple student-athletes represented.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the Golden Spikes Award back this year and kicking off the 2021 amateur baseball season with the fifty-five-player preseason watch list,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The athletes who make up this year’s initial watch list have an incredible amount of talent and we are looking forward to their return to the diamond so we can follow their journeys during what will undoubtedly be a highly competitive season.”
Del Castillo and Toral are two of the premier hitters in college baseball and they enter the 2021 season as two of the most decorated bats in Division I. Both players were named to Baseball America’s Preseason All-America first team, making the Hurricanes one of two programs with two such honorees.
A consensus preseason All-American, Del Castillo received first-team accolades by Baseball America, D1 Baseball, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game and second-team honors from the NCBWA.
Toral is one of four players to repeat as a Baseball America preseason All-American, as he was voted to the third team in 2020. In addition to his first-team selection by Baseball America, the fourth-year player also garnered second-team honors by both Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game and a third-team selection by D1 Baseball.