FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas pitcher Connor Noland is firmly in the running for this year’s Golden Spikes Award.
Noland has been named to the award’s midseason watch list, which was unveiled by USA Baseball on Tuesday. It features 45 of the nation’s top amateur players from the high school and college ranks and includes 26 athletes who have played their way onto the watch list since the preseason list was announced on February 15.
The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on May 24.
Noland has emerged as the Razorbacks’ ace this season, owning a 4-1 record with a team-leading 3.05 ERA over 41.1 innings pitched. The veteran right-hander has logged four quality starts on the year, striking out 53 while issuing only nine walks.
A native of Greenwood, Ark., Noland has totaled double-digit strikeouts in two of his seven starts. He matched his career high with an 11-strikeout performance in game one of a doubleheader against UIC on March 10.
USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2022 Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday, May 24. The list of semifinalists will then be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 150 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 8, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com. The winner of the 44th Golden Spikes Award will be named on Friday, June 24, on ESPN.
Arkansas boasts a storied history involving the Golden Spikes Award. Former Razorbacks Andrew Benintendi and Kevin Kopps each won the award as the best amateur baseball player in the country in 2015 and 2021, respectively, making Arkansas just one of five schools, along with Florida State (4), Arizona State (3), Cal State Fullerton (3) and San Diego State (2), to have multiple Golden Spikes Award winners.
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