Wednesday, June 02, 2010

DURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball announced Tuesday the names of the 30 semifinalists for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (GSA) with Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Paul Hoilman and Pitcher of the Year Chris Sale named to the list.

Hoilman finished the year ranked top 25 nationally in batting average (.421), hits (99), runs (79), doubles (24), home runs (24), RBI (84), total bases (202), walks (51), slugging percentage (.860) and on base percentage (.526). The Atlantic Sun Player of the Year set ETSU single season records for hits, home runs, extra base hits, total bases, RBI, runs and walks. The Johnson City, Tenn. native also holds the career record for RBI (197) and walks (117), and tied Mike Nipper with 51 career home runs at the Atlantic Sun baseball tournament.

Sale (Lakeland, Fla.), a top 25 finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award and 2010 A-Sun Pitcher of the Year, wrapped up his junior season owning a 11-0 record with two saves and a 2.01 ERA in 17 appearances. The Eagles’ lefthander, who earned 2010 First Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, led the A-Sun in all three of the pitching Triple Crown categories during the regular season - an unblemished 10-0 record, a 1.97 ERA and a nation’s best 135 strikeouts. His 146 strikeouts during the 2010 campaign places him in fifth place on the A-Sun’s single season strikeouts list (tied with FIU’s Evan Thomas; 1995) and is the most in the league since Justin Pope of UCF sat down 158 in 2001.

This year will mark the 33rd consecutive year that the award has been presented to the nation's top amateur baseball player.

Today also marks the third year in a row that GoldenSpikesAward.com - powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball - will be the online home for the award. The Web site features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past-winner photo galleries, and photographs and video highlights for the 2010 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 30 players is narrowed to five finalists on Tuesday, June 8, en route to the announcement of this year's winner on Tuesday, July 13.

The 2010 GSA will be awarded live at MLB's All-Star FanFest in Anaheim as part of a production by Major League Baseball and MLBAM. Online footage of the event will air live exclusively at GoldenSpikesAward.com.

In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it will follow the same model again in 2009. After accepting nominations from sports information directors across the country, a committee voted to determine the 30 semifinalists. The names of the 30 semifinalists will now be forwarded to a group of nearly 200 voters which will select the five finalists and the eventual winner. Beginning today fans will also be able to vote on the 2010 GSA by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com and selecting their favorite amateur player.

"USA Baseball is proud to recognize these 30 student-athletes and their respective baseball programs," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. "There were many individual standout performances in 2010, and we look forward to ultimately honoring the top performance at All-Star FanFest in July."

A list of the 30 semifinalists is as follows:

Name, Class, Pos., School
Trevor Bauer, Sophomore, RHP, UCLA
Daniel Bibona, Senior, LHP, UC Irvine
Gary Brown, Junior, IF, Cal State Fullerton
Michael Choice, Junior, OF, Texas-Arlington
Christian Colon, Junior, IF, Cal State Fullerton
Zack Cox, Sophomore, IF/RHP, Arkansas
Derek Dietrich, Junior, IF, Georgia Tech
Chris Duffy, Senior, IF/OF, Central Florida
Yasmani Grandal, Junior, C, Miami (Fla.)
Cole Green, Junior, RHP/OF, Texas
Bryce Harper, Freshman, C, Southern Nevada
Paul Hoilman, Junior, RHP/IF, East Tennessee State
Danny Hultzen, Sophomore, LHP/IF, Virginia
Taylor Jungmann, Sophomore, RHP, Texas
Barret Loux, Junior, RHP/OF, Texas A&M
Zack MacPhee, Sophomore, IF, Arizona State
Mike McGee, Junior, RHP/OF, Florida State
Deck McGuire, Junior, RHP, Georgia Tech
Anthony Meo, Sophomore, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Hunter Morris, Junior, IF/OF, Auburn
Drew Pomeranz, Junior, LHP, Mississippi
Anthony Rendon, Sophomore, IF, Rice
Chance Ruffin, Junior, RHP, Texas
Chris Sale, Junior, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast
Rob Segedin, RS Sophomore, IF/RHP, Tulane
John Stilson, Sophomore, RHP/IF, Texas A&M
Kolbrin Vitek, Junior, IF/RHP, Ball State
Alex Wimmers, Junior, RHP, Ohio State
Asher Wojciechowski, Junior, RHP, The Citadel
Phil Wunderlich, Junior, IF/OF, Louisville

About the 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 2009 Golden Spikes Award winner was Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), Jered Weaver (’04), Rickie Weeks (’03), Khalil Greene (’02), Jason Jennings (’00), Pat Burrell (‘98), J.D. Drew (’97), Mark Kotsay (’95), and Jason Varitek (’94). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’85), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Bob Horner (’78). For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com.

About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). The organization selects and trains the United States Olympic Baseball Team (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate); the USA Baseball 18U, 16U and 14U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to top player in college baseball. For more information, please visit USABaseball.com and GoldenSpikesAward.com. To receive monthly USA Baseball E-mail newsletters delivered straight to your inbox, please visit USABaseball.com and register for free in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.