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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Wilson tabbed Golden Spikes Award semifinalist again
5/22/2023 1:05:00 PM | Baseball
Lopes junior shortstop named semifinalist for college baseball's top honor for 2nd straight season
Grand Canyon junior shortstop Jacob Wilson was named one of 25 national semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, the premier college baseball honor given annually by USA Baseball to the top amateur player.
Wilson has long been on the radar of USA Baseball. He first appeared on the Golden Spikes Watch List in the midseason unveiling of the watch list last season and has been on every successive list including 2022 semifinalists, 2023 preseason, 2023 midseason and 2023 semifinalists. His selection on last year's midseason list springboarded him into a successful summer as a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
"As the amateur baseball season enters the home stretch, we are excited to honor this season's top players,"Â USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler said. "The talent in amateur baseball is as exceptional as it has ever been and the 25Â players on this list are the best of the best. We look forward to watching the remainder of the season as we move closer to naming the winner of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award in June."
While the Thousand Oaks, California, native's credentials were strong last season, they're even more favorable in his draft-eligible junior campaign.
Wilson raised his average from .358 as a sophomore to .425 as a junior in 2023. He saw similar increases in slugging percentage (.585 to .665), on-base percentage (.418 to .473) and stolen bases (0 to 8) while reprising his role as the nation's toughest batter to strike out.
Wilson is the only WAC representative on the list of 25 players, and is just one of four student-athletes to appear on the list from non-Power 5 institutions. GCU is one of 18 institutions represented on the list.
Wilson joins four other honorees as returning semifinalists. Dylan Crews (LSU), Jake Gelof (Virginia), Tanner Hall (Southern Miss) and Tommy White (LSU) joined Wilson on the 2022 list of Golden Spikes Semifinalists. Wilson is one of 11 athletes who were members of the preseason, midseason and semifinalists releases this year.
A two-time WAC Hitter of the Week, Wilson has more than just numbers behind his resume in 2023. He has had several marquee moments, headlined by hitting go-ahead grand slams in back-to-back days to help the Lopes sweep a conference series in late April. The first of the two grand slams represented Wilson's 200th career hit.
Wilson has rewritten GCU's Division I record book in 2023, becoming the program's D-I career leader in hits (221) and RBIs (154).
Wilson helped lead the Lopes to their third consecutive WAC Regular-Season Championship on Saturday.
"It's awesome," Wilson said. "It's amazing to be a part of this program. The last three years we've won the championship. It's been a cool, special three years having multiple dog piles now. It's been my most favorite three years of my life."
The Lopes continue their quest for a third consecutive NCAA tournament bids with this week's WAC Tournament at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, where they will open with a 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Wilson was joined by Lopes teammate Homer Bush Jr. on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, but the junior center fielder did not advance to a the semifinalist stage, though he holds a .372 batting average and broke GCU's D-I single-season stolen base record with 23 last weekend.
Fans can play a role in selecting the eventual Golden Spikes Award winner, as all 25 semifinalists will be available for fan voting beginning on June 5. The list will be narrowed to finalists on June 7 and the winner will be announced June 25Â on ESPN.
The 25 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists:
Wilson has long been on the radar of USA Baseball. He first appeared on the Golden Spikes Watch List in the midseason unveiling of the watch list last season and has been on every successive list including 2022 semifinalists, 2023 preseason, 2023 midseason and 2023 semifinalists. His selection on last year's midseason list springboarded him into a successful summer as a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team."As the amateur baseball season enters the home stretch, we are excited to honor this season's top players," USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler said. "The talent in amateur baseball is as exceptional as it has ever been and the 25 players on this list are the best of the best. We look forward to watching the remainder of the season as we move closer to naming the winner of the prestigious Golden Spikes Award in June."
While the Thousand Oaks, California, native's credentials were strong last season, they're even more favorable in his draft-eligible junior campaign.
Wilson raised his average from .358 as a sophomore to .425 as a junior in 2023. He saw similar increases in slugging percentage (.585 to .665), on-base percentage (.418 to .473) and stolen bases (0 to 8) while reprising his role as the nation's toughest batter to strike out.
Wilson is the only WAC representative on the list of 25 players, and is just one of four student-athletes to appear on the list from non-Power 5 institutions. GCU is one of 18 institutions represented on the list.
Wilson joins four other honorees as returning semifinalists. Dylan Crews (LSU), Jake Gelof (Virginia), Tanner Hall (Southern Miss) and Tommy White (LSU) joined Wilson on the 2022 list of Golden Spikes Semifinalists. Wilson is one of 11 athletes who were members of the preseason, midseason and semifinalists releases this year.
A two-time WAC Hitter of the Week, Wilson has more than just numbers behind his resume in 2023. He has had several marquee moments, headlined by hitting go-ahead grand slams in back-to-back days to help the Lopes sweep a conference series in late April. The first of the two grand slams represented Wilson's 200th career hit.
Wilson has rewritten GCU's Division I record book in 2023, becoming the program's D-I career leader in hits (221) and RBIs (154).
Wilson helped lead the Lopes to their third consecutive WAC Regular-Season Championship on Saturday.
"It's awesome," Wilson said. "It's amazing to be a part of this program. The last three years we've won the championship. It's been a cool, special three years having multiple dog piles now. It's been my most favorite three years of my life."
The Lopes continue their quest for a third consecutive NCAA tournament bids with this week's WAC Tournament at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, where they will open with a 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Wilson was joined by Lopes teammate Homer Bush Jr. on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, but the junior center fielder did not advance to a the semifinalist stage, though he holds a .372 batting average and broke GCU's D-I single-season stolen base record with 23 last weekend.
Fans can play a role in selecting the eventual Golden Spikes Award winner, as all 25 semifinalists will be available for fan voting beginning on June 5. The list will be narrowed to finalists on June 7 and the winner will be announced June 25Â on ESPN.
The 25 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists:
- Max Anderson; INF; Nebraska; Big Ten
- Jac Caglianone; 1B; Florida; SEC
- Charlie Condon; 1B/OF; Georgia; SEC
- Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; SEC
- Chase Davis; OF; Arizona; Pac-12
- Jake Gelof; INF/OF; Virginia; ACC
- Caden Grice; 1B/LHP; Clemson; ACC
- Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss; Sun Belt
- Josh Hartle; LHP; Wake Forest; ACC
- Nick Kurtz; INF/OF; Wake Forest; ACC
- Wyatt Langford; OF; Florida; SEC
- Rhett Lowder; RHP; Wake Forest; ACC
- Quinn Mathews; LHP; Stanford; Pac-12
- Yohandy Morales; INF; Miami; ACC
- Ethan Petry; OF; South Carolina; SEC
- Alberto Rios; C; Stanford; Pac-12
- Nolan Schanuel; INF/OF; FAU; C-USA
- Paul Skenes; RHP; LSU; SEC
- Hagen Smith; LHP; Arkansas; SEC
- Kyle Teel; C/INF; Virginia; ACC
- Brock Vradenburg; INF; Michigan State; Big Ten
- JJ Wetherholt; INF; West Virginia; Big 12
- Ben Williamson; INF; William & Mary; CAA
- Tommy White; INF; LSU; SEC
- Jacob Wilson; INF; Grand Canyon; WAC
Players Mentioned
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