Indiana University Athletics
Travis Named Semifinalist for Golden Spikes Award
5/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 27, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - USA Baseball announced 21 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday, an award given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Indiana first baseman Sam Travis is on the list as he is second on the team in hitting (.342) and home runs (10) and leads IU in RBI (53).
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2014. This announcement officially marks the opening of voting for amateur baseball fans from across the country on GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of names. Voting will be open until Friday, May 30.
GoldenSpikesAward.com -- powered by MLB Advanced Media -- will once again be the online home for the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past winner photo galleries, and photographs and biographical information for the 2014 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 21 players is narrowed to a group of finalists on Tuesday, June 3.
One new player was added to the list since its last release on May 8, joining 20 others from the 30-man watch list. The Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Atlantic Sun Conference led all conferences in watch list players, with three semifinalists each. Additionally, 10 different NCAA conferences are represented on the list. The West Coast Conference, PAC 12 Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and Big West Conference all had two athletes on the list.
Each of the 21 semifinalists represent different schools from across the country. Louisiana State's Aaron Nola makes an appearance on the 2014 Golden Spikes Award semifinalist list after also being named a semifinalist for the award in 2013.
USA Baseball officials will announce the list of finalists for the 2014 Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday, June 3. 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 media that closely follow the amateur game, select professional baseball personnel, and current USA Baseball staff, representing a group of more than 200 voters in total.
Last year, University of San Diego infielder, Kris Bryant, took home the prestigious award, joining a group of recent winners that includes Mike Zunino (2012), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Buster Posey (2008).
Other past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006) and David Price (2007).
Important 2014 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award dates include:
Tuesday, May 27: Semifinalists announced, selected by USA Baseball officials; semifinalist voting begins; voters to select three
Friday, May 30: Deadline to vote for finalists, 5 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 3: Finalists announced; finalist voting begins; voters to select one
Friday, June 13: Deadline to vote for winner, 5 p.m. ET
Thursday, July 17: Golden Spikes Award presentation
The complete 2014 Golden Spikes Award semifinalist list is as follows:
Name, Position, Class, School (in order of last name, new players bolded)
Aaron Brown, OF/LHP, Junior, Pepperdine

Michael Conforto, OF, Junior, Oregon State

Tyler Davis, RHP, Junior, Washington

Chris Ellis, RHP, Junior, Mississippi

Kyle Freeland, LHP, Junior, Evansville

Casey Gillaspie, IF, Junior, Wichita State

Daniel Gossett, RHP, Senior, Clemson

Matt Imhof, LHP, Junior, Cal Poly

Connor Joe, IF, Junior, San Diego

Michael Katz, IF, Junior, William & Mary


Nathan Kirby, LHP, Sophomore, Virginia

Jordan Luplow, OF, Junior, Fresno State

Andrew Morales, RHP, Senior, UC Irvine

Michael Murray, RHP, Sophomore, Florida Gulf Coast


Aaron Nola, RHP, Junior, Louisiana State

Max Pentecost, C, Junior, Kennesaw State

Josh Prevost, RHP, Senior, Seton Hall

A.J. Reed, LHP/IF, Junior, Kentucky

DJ Stewart, OF, Sophomore, Florida State


Sam Travis, IF, Junior, Indiana

Drew Weeks, OF/IF, Junior, North Florida
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 2012 Golden Spikes Award winner was Mike Zunino of the University of Florida. Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Bryce Harper ('10), Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price ('07), Tim Lincecum ('06), Alex Gordon ('05), Jered Weaver ('04), Rickie Weeks ('03) and Mark Kotsay ('95). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Pat Burrell ('98), Robin Ventura ('88), Jim Abbott ('87), Will Clark ('85), Dave Magadan ('83), Terry Francona ('80), Tim Wallach ('79), and Horner ('78). For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com. Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U 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 the top amateur baseball player in the country. For more information, please visit USABaseball.com.
