DURHAM, N.C. – For the second-straight year Missouri State sophomore Jake Burger has been named to a list of 25 semifinalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (GSA), which was announced Wednesday. Burger is the lone Missouri Valley Conference standout on the list and one of only two repeat semifinalists for the honor, which will be presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player for the 40th consecutive year.
Burger joins Louisville’s Brendan McKay—a three-time semifinalist—as the only multi-year semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. MSU’s third baseman, who was also named a semifinalist for the 2017 Dick Howser Trophy for the second season in a row, has clubbed a career-best 22 homers this season. Burger became the fifth Bear to earn MVC Player of the Year recognition and just the second MSU hitter to top the 20-homer mark in consecutive seasons.
A junior from Chesterfield, Mo., Burger leads the MVC and ranks fourth nationally in homers, joining forces with fellow MSU infielder Jeremy Eierman to form the top power duo at the Division I level with 41 combined round-trippers this spring. Burger also leads the circuit and ranks fifth nationally in runs scored (67), while rating among the nation’s top 25 hitters in slugging (.691), RBIs (63) and total bases (154) as well. The two-time All-American ranks second among all active Division I hitters with 47 career home runs, while his 236 career hits is the 14th best total in Missouri State history. Additionally, he is just the third Bear to earn First-Team All-MVC honors in three consecutive seasons, joining Steve Hacker (1993-95) and Kevin Medrano (2009-12) on that distinguished list.
The Atlantic Coast Conference leads 10 different NCAA conferences represented on the distinguished list of Golden Spikes Award honorees with six semifinalists, followed closely by the Pac-12 Conference with five and the Southeastern Conference with four. The Big 10 and Big 12 conferences both host a pair of semifinalists while the Big West, Conference USA, MVC, Southern and Sun Belt conferences each have one athlete on the list. Also represented in the list of semifinalists is the College of Central Florida in the National Junior College Athletic Association with right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson.
USA Baseball officials will announce the finalists for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award on Wednesday, June 14. To select the finalists, the list of semifinalists is sent to a voting body consisting of past Golden Spikes Award winners, past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that closely follow the amateur game, select professional baseball personnel, and select current USA Baseball staff, representing a group of more than 200 voters in total. As part of the selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. Voting will be open until Friday, June 9.
Fan voting will once again be part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2017. This announcement officially marks the opening of voting for amateur baseball fans from across the country on GoldenSpikesAward.com – the online home of the award, powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM).
The live presentation of the 2017 Golden Spikes Award will be announced exclusively on ESPN’s flagship program, SportsCenter, on Thursday, June 29. The announcement will take place in ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center at L.A. Live. The finalists and their families will be also honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Awards Dinner that evening at the Jonathan Club Los Angeles.
USA Baseball recently announced a ten-year partnership extension with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation that provides the marketing and sponsorship rights surrounding the Golden Spikes Award to fund its mission to support youth baseball and softball programs in underprivileged areas.
Mercer University outfielder Kyle Lewis took home the prestigious award in 2016, joining a group of recent winners that includes Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Buster Posey (2008).
The anticipated timeline for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award announcements is as follows:
• Wednesday, May 31: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists, voting begins
• Friday, June 9: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
• Wednesday, June 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists, voting begins
• Friday, June 23: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
• Thursday, June 29: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the 25 semifinalists for the 2017 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award is as follows:
Name, Position, Class, School
Jake Adams, Jr., IF, Iowa
J.B. Bukauskas, Jr., RHP, North Carolina
Jake Burger, Jr., IF, Missouri State
Griffin Canning, Jr., RHP, UCLA
Morgan Cooper, Jr., RHP, Texas
Greg Deichmann, Jr., OF, LSU
Drew Ellis, Jr., IF, Louisville
Alex Faedo, Jr., RHP, Florida
Stuart Fairchild, Jr., OF, Wake Forest
Steven Gingery, So., LHP, Texas Tech
Nate Harris, Sr., RHP, Louisiana Tech
Adam Haseley, Jr., LHP/OF, Virginia
Luke Heimlich, Jr., LHP, Oregon State
Keston Hiura, Jr., IF/OF, UC Irvine
Gunner Leger, Jr., LHP, Louisiana Lafayette
Nick Madrigal, So., IF, Oregon State
J.J. Matijevic, Jr., IF, Arizona
Brendan McKay, Jr., LHP/IF, Louisville
Nate Pearson, So., RHP, College of Central Florida
David Peterson, Jr., LHP, Oregon
Brent Rooker, Jr., OF, Mississippi State
JP Sears, Jr., LHP, The Citadel
Brian Shaffer, Jr., RHP, Maryland
Pavin Smith, Jr., IF/OF, Virginia
Evan White, Jr., IF, Kentucky
