USA Baseball today named the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, continuing the process of identifying the best amateur baseball player in the country for the 2026 season. The list features 45 of the nation’s top athletes from college and high school baseball.
The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue maintaining a rolling list of athletes throughout the season, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before the announcement of the semifinalists on May 14. Following the 25-player semifinalist announcement, the three finalists will be revealed on June 10, and then the winner will be named on June 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET during a presentation on MLB Network.
“We are honored to acknowledge the top forty-five amateur players in the nation for their stellar performances so far this season,” said USA Baseball CEO/Executive Director Paul Seiler. “There is unbelievable talent up and down the entire amateur baseball landscape, and the players on this list represent the best of the best. We look forward to watching the rest of the season unfold as we move closer to naming the 48th winner of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.”
Twenty-six athletes have played their way onto the list since the announcement of the preseason watch list on February 6, while 19 players who were on the preseason list made the midseason watch list. Trey Beard (Florida State), Roch Cholowsky (UCLA), Justin Lebron (Alabama), and Wes Mendes (Florida State) all appear on the midseason watch list for the second consecutive year after being named to last year’s list. Along with Cholowsky and Lebron, Daniel Cuvet (Miami) and Dylan Volantis (Texas) are making their third consecutive Golden Spikes Award list after appearing on last year’s semifinalist list and this year’s preseason watch list.
Additionally, high school senior Grady Emerson (Fort Worth Christian High School), who was also named to the preseason watch list earlier this year, is the lone non-Division I player on the list. He 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.
Thirty-three different schools are featured on this year’s list. UCLA leads all schools with four players, the most the program has ever had on a midseason watch list, while Florida State and Texas boast three players each. This is the third consecutive year that the Seminoles have had three players make the list, while this is the second time and first since 2022 that the Longhorns have had three players on the list. Five other schools – Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Mississippi State, and Southern Cal – also have multiple players named to the list with two players apiece.
Eight conferences are represented on the midseason watch list. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) leads all conferences with 16 players, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 13 and the Big Ten with seven. Five other Division I conferences have a combined eight players on the list.
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).
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.
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 45-player 2026 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List is as follows:
Name – Year – Position – School – Conference
Jarren Advincula – JR – INF – Georgia Tech – ACC
Myles Bailey – SO – INF – Florida State – ACC
Trey Beard – JR – LHP – Florida State – ACC
Tristan Bissetta – SR – OF – Ole Miss – SEC
Ben Blair – JR – RHP – Liberty – CUSA
Jake Brown – JR – OF – LSU – SEC
Lorenzo Carrier – R-SR – OF – Pittsburgh – ACC
Roch Cholowsky – JR – INF – UCLA – Big Ten
Quinton Coats – SO – INF – Cincinnati – Big 12
Daniel Cuvet – JR – INF – Miami – ACC
Tague Davis – SO – INF – Louisville – ACC
Jason DeCaro – JR – RHP – North Carolina – ACC
Evan Dempsey – JR – RHP/OF – FGCU – A-SUN
Mason Edwards – JR – LHP – Southern Cal – Big Ten
Grady Emerson – SR (HS) – INF – Fort Worth Christian (HS)
Jackson Flora – JR – RHP – UC Santa Barbara – Big West
Henry Ford – JR – INF/OF – Tennessee – SEC
Will Gasparino – JR – OF – UCLA – Big Ten
Grant Govel – SO – RHP – Southern Cal – Big Ten
AJ Gracia – JR – OF – Virginia – ACC
Landon Hairston – SO – INF – Arizona State – Big 12
Ryder Helfrick – JR – C – Arkansas – SEC
Daniel Jackson – JR – C/OF – Georgia – SEC
Dee Kennedy – JR – INF – Kansas State – Big 12
Vahn Lackey – JR – C/INF – Georgia Tech – ACC
Brendan Lawson – SO – INF – Florida – SEC
Justin Lebron – JR – INF – Alabama – SEC
Chris Levonas – SO – RHP – Wake Forest – ACC
Mulivai Levu – JR – INF – UCLA – Big Ten
Jake Marciano – SO – LHP – Auburn – SEC
Wes Mendes – JR – LHP – Florida State – ACC
LJ Mercurius – JR – RHP – Oklahoma – SEC
Tre Phelps – JR – INF/OF – Georgia – SEC
Jack Radel – JR – RHP – Notre Dame – ACC
Logan Reddemann – JR – RHP – UCLA – Big Ten
Ace Reese – JR – INF – Mississippi State – SEC
Ruger Riojas – SR – RHP – Texas – SEC
Aiden Robbins – JR – OF – Texas – SEC
Drew Smith – SR – INF/OF – Oregon – Big Ten
Caden Sorrell – JR – OF – Texas A&M – SEC
Sawyer Strosnider – SO – OF – TCU – Big 12
Tomas Valincius – SO – LHP – Mississippi State – SEC
Dylan Volantis – SO – LHP – Texas – SEC
Dax Whitney – SO – RHP – Oregon State – Pac-12
Derek Williams – SR – OF – Miami – ACC
