• Baseball
  • Pair of Golden Bears from Cal Named to the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Watch List

Pair of Golden Bears from Cal Named to the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Watch List

Details
Baseball

Two California baseball student-athletes were selected to the 55-player preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, which was announced by USA Baseball on Tuesday.

Junior outfielder Dylan Beavers and junior pitcher Josh White are among the nation's top 55 amateur baseball players who were named to the watch list. The Golden Spikes Award is earned annually by the top amateur baseball player in the country. A rolling list of players will be maintained throughout the season, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award. To view the full 55-player watch list, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com.

Beavers and White have been recognized as preseason All-Americans over the past month following impressive sophomore seasons in Berkeley and a summer spent with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team.

Beavers has earned consensus preseason All-America honors from five organizations – NCBWA, Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper – after establishing himself as one of the top outfielders in the country in 2021. The Paso Robles, California, native led the Pac-12 with 18 home runs, including 10 during conference play, and slashed .303/.401/.630 in 2021.

White nabbed a spot on the 2022 D1Baseball Preseason All-America second team. The Danville, California native was one of the Pac-12's most productive arms throughout 2021, posting the conference's second-lowest ERA (2.79) while striking out 81 batters in 61.1 innings pitched.

Cal is one of just eight programs nationally to be represented by multiple athletes on the 2022 watch list, joining LSU (3), Arizona State (2), Arkansas (2), Florida (2), Ole Miss (2), Texas (2) and Vanderbilt (2).

Since 2008, Cal is 15th nationally with 13 selections to the watch list, most notably including 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner and two-time finalist (2018, 2019) Andrew Vaughn. The former Golden Bear standout and current Chicago White Sox is Cal's lone two-time selection to the award watch list. Cal has also had at least one player named to the watch list in five of the past seven seasons.

Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting on May 24 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 8 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through June 12.