SEC Baseball Trio Named As All Three Golden Spikes Finalists

The list of the Golden Spikes award finalists has a strong SEC baseball flavor to it. In fact, all three finalists reside in the Southeastern Conference. LSU teammates Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes are joined by Florida’s two-way star Jac Caglianone as the three finalists, as announced by USA Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.

The award goes to the top college baseball player in the nation (essentially, college baseball’s Heisman Trophy). All three players have played a key role in leading their respective teams to top five national seeds this season, and berths in this upcoming weekend’s Super Regionals.

SEC Baseball trio named 2023 Golden Spikes Award finalists

Crews is one of the top hitters in the nation, and was named the SEC’s Player of the Year this year. Crews hit an impressive .432 on the season (third in the nation), while also putting up a .573 OBP (second nationally) and a .736 SLG %. Crews has also hit 17 HR, 14 2B, has 63 RBI, and has scored 87 runs (second nationally). He is also a strong defensive outfielder, as he was also named to the SEC All-Defensive team.

Skenes has been a dominant ace for LSU’s pitching staff this year, and was named the SEC’s Pitcher of the Year. Skenes has a sizzling 1.90 ERA (fourth nationally) on the year across 99 1/3 IP. He has an 11-2 record, a dominant 179:17 K/BB ratio, a .171 opponent’s Batting Average Against, and has thrown two complete games. Skenes leads the nation in strikeouts by over 40 K’s. He has made 16 starts on the season.

Caglianone gets it done in both aspects of the game as he is key slugger and pitcher for the No. 2 national seed Florida Gators. Caglianone leads the nation in home runs this season with 31, while also sporting a strong .337/.401/.779 slash line. He has also driven in 84 RBI (tied for fifth in the nation) and has scored 69 runs. Those strong hitting numbers pair with his strong pitching numbers. Caglianone has a 7-3 record, 3.78 ERA, and an 81:49 K/BB ratio across 69 innings pitched (16 starts) on the mound. He has also limited opposing batters to just a .184 BAA. Caglianone has been in Florida’s weekend rotation the entire season, and plays 1st base when he is not pitching.

As mentioned earlier, both No. 2 Florida and No. 5 LSU are heading into Super Regionals this weekend (with both hosting fellow SEC squads). Florida will host No. 15 South Carolina starting Friday, while LSU opens up their Super against No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday.

The winner of the Golden Spikes award will be announced on June 25th on ESPN.

Nine SEC players have won the award in the past, with the most recent being Arkansas’ Kevin Kopps in 2021.