USA Baseball Announces 2026 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

USA Baseball today announced the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, beginning the process of identifying the best amateur baseball player in the nation for the 2026 season.

The preseason list includes 55 players across high school and college baseball based on their body of work from the previous year. 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.

“We could not be more excited to kick off the amateur baseball season with the announcement of the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The athletes on this year’s initial watch list represent a tremendous amount of talent and character. We are looking forward to watching their journeys unfold during what is sure to be a thrilling and competitive season of amateur baseball.”

The list features seven players who were named Golden Spikes Award semifinalists in 2025: Drew Burress (Georgia Tech), Roch Cholowsky (UCLA), Daniel Cuvet (Miami), Justin Lebron (Alabama), Kade Lewis (Wake Forest), Jack Ohman (Yale), and Dylan Volantis (Texas). For Burress, this is the sixth consecutive list that he has appeared on dating back to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.

Along with Burress, Cuvet, and Lebron, Jason DeCaro (North Carolina), Gabe Gaeckle (Arkansas), AJ Gracia (Virginia), Henry Ford (Tennessee), and Zion Rose (Louisville) are making an appearance on the preseason list for the second consecutive year. Additionally, Trey Beard (Florida State), Hunter Elliott (Ole Miss), Aidan Knaak (Clemson), and Liam Peterson (Florida) return to a Golden Spikes Award list after being featured on the 2025 midseason watch list.

Georgia Tech (Jarren Advincula, Burress, and Vahn Lackey) leads all schools with three players, while 12 other schools (Arkansas, Florida, Louisville, LSU, North Carolina, Oregon State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia, and Wake Forest) feature two players each on the list.

Additionally, six 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. Carson Bolemon (Southside Christian High School), Coleman Borthwick (South Walton High School), Grady Emerson (Fort Worth Christian High School), Jacob Lombard (Gulliver Schools), Gio Rojas (Stoneman Douglas High School), and Mackenzie Wainwright (Lenoir-Rhyne) all earned their spot on the list. All five high school players were a part of USA Baseball’s 2025 18U National Team that won a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup, while Wainright led his team to a Division II College World Series appearance and was the 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Regional Player of the Year.

Overall, 41 schools and 13 conferences are represented on the preseason watch list. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) leads all conferences with 16 players, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 14 and the Big 12 Conference with five.

Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy is the most recent winner of the Golden Spikes Award, earning the prestigious honor after a prolific season in 2025. He joins an elite group of recent winners including Charlie Condon (2024), Dylan Crews (2023), 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).

Key dates for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award include:

• Midseason Watch List – April 2

• Semifinalists – May 14

• Finalists – June 10

• Winner – June 29

Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2026. Following the semifinalist announcement, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com to help determine the finalists and winner. The 2026 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced during a presentation on MLB Network.

To stay up to date on the 2026 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter/X.

A complete list of the 55-player 2026 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List is as follows:

Name – Year – Position – School – Conference

Jarren Advincula – JR – INF – Georgia Tech – ACC

Brady Ballinger – JR – INF – Kansas – Big 12

Trey Beard – JR – LHP – Florida State – ACC

Eric Becker – JR – INF – Virginia – ACC

Tyler Bell – SO – INF – Kentucky – SEC

Carson Bolemon – SR – LHP/INF – Southside Christian (HS)

Coleman Borthwick – SR – RHP/INF – South Walton (HS)

Drew Burress – JR – OF – Georgia Tech – ACC

Roch Cholowsky – JR – INF – UCLA – Big Ten

Derek Curiel – SO – OF – LSU – SEC

Daniel Cuvet – JR – INF – Miami – ACC

Jason DeCaro – JR – RHP – North Carolina – ACC

Evan Dempsey – JR – RHP/OF – FGCU – ASUN

Hunter Elliott – R-JR – LHP – Ole Miss – SEC

Grady Emerson – SR – INF – Fort Worth Christian (HS)

Casan Evans – SO – RHP – LSU – SEC

Harrison Feinberg – R-SR – OF – Northeastern – CAA

Jackson Flora – JR – RHP – UC Santa Barbara – Big West

Cameron Flukey – JR – RHP – Coastal Carolina – Sun Belt

Henry Ford – JR – INF/OF – Tennessee – SEC

Gabe Gaeckle – JR – RHP – Arkansas – SEC

Gavin Gallaher – JR – INF – North Carolina – ACC

AJ Gracia – JR – OF – Virginia – ACC

Chris Hacopian – JR – INF – Texas A&M – SEC

Jake Hanley – SO – INF – Indiana – Big Ten

Ryder Helfrick – JR – C – Arkansas – SEC

Aidan King – SO – RHP – Florida – SEC

Ethan Kleinschmit – JR – LHP – Oregon State – Pac-12

Aidan Knaak – JR – RHP – Clemson – ACC

Vahn Lackey – JR – C/INF – Georgia Tech – ACC

Tommy LaPour – JR – RHP – TCU – Big 12

Justin Lebron – JR – INF – Alabama – SEC

Mulivai Levu – JR – INF – UCLA – Big Ten

Kade Lewis – JR – INF – Wake Forest – ACC

Jacob Lombard – SR – INF – Gulliver Schools (HS)

Maddox Molony – JR – INF – Oregon – Big Ten

Lucas Moore – JR – OF – Louisville – ACC

Blake Morningstar – JR – RHP – Wake Forest – ACC

Ethan Norby – JR – LHP – East Carolina – American

Jack Ohman – SO – RHP – Yale – Ivy League

Ricky Ojeda – JR – LHP – UC Irvine – Big West

Liam Peterson – JR – RHP – Florida – SEC

Tony Pluta – SR – RHP – Arizona – Big 12

Ace Reese – JR – INF – Mississippi State – SEC

Chris Rembert – SO – INF/OF – Auburn – SEC

Gio Rojas – SR – LHP/UTL – Stoneman Douglas (HS)

Zion Rose – JR – OF – Louisville – ACC

Sawyer Solitaria – SO – UTL – Kent State – MAC

Caden Sorrell – JR – OF – Texas A&M – SEC

Sawyer Strosnider – SO – OF – TCU – Big 12

Carson Tinney – JR – C – Texas – SEC

Dylan Volantis – SO – LHP – Texas – SEC

Mackenzie Wainwright – JR – OF – Lenoir-Rhyne – SAC

Dax Whitney – SO – RHP – Oregon State – Pac-12

Andrew Williamson – JR – OF – UCF – Big 12