Lincoln – Nebraska junior outfielder Ryan Boldt was one of 50 players named to USA Baseball’s preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list on Tuesday. Boldt has already been named a preseason All-American by multiple publications and is ranked as the #13 college prospect for the 2016 MLB Draft by Baseball America.
Boldt was one of three Big Ten players named to the watch list, joining Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti and Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn.
Boldt is coming off a sophomore campaign where he shined both on the field and in the classroom. The Red Wing, Minn., native led the Huskers in average (.344), hits (75), runs (45) and stolen bases (9). NU’s leadoff hitter for most of the season, Boldt displayed a great eye at the plate with 27 walks to 27 strikeouts, while also leading the team with a .429 on-base percentage. During league play, Boldt ranked ninth in the Big Ten with a .374 average and tied for eighth in hits with 34, while his on-base percentage of .467 ranked fourth.
Boldt enters 2016 with 149 career hits and needs 51 hits to become the 24th player in school history with 200 career hits. He would also be just the 15th player in school history to reach the mark in three seasons.
Boldt also earned third-team academic All-America honors in 2015, becoming the 17th Husker baseball player to earn the honor.
Alex Gordon is the only Husker to ever win the Golden Spikes Award, as he won the Golden Spikes, Brooks Wallace and Dick Howser Awards in 2005, and he was also named ABCA Player of the Year. Two other Huskers have been finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, including Darin Erstad (1995) and Ken Harvey (1999).
Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 39th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 30 in Los Angeles. The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation’s top amateur players, from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season.
Starting on April 11 and ending April 17, fans will be able to nominate their favorite players for the Golden Spikes Award for the first time ever prior to the reveal of Midseason Watch List on April 20. The semifinalists list will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow the amateur game closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 38 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Fan voting will continue to be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2016, starting on June 1 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. Amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. On June 13, USA Baseball will announce the finalists and voting will begin that day and last until June 25.
Boldt was one of three Big Ten players named to the watch list, joining Michigan’s Carmen Benedetti and Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn.
Boldt is coming off a sophomore campaign where he shined both on the field and in the classroom. The Red Wing, Minn., native led the Huskers in average (.344), hits (75), runs (45) and stolen bases (9). NU’s leadoff hitter for most of the season, Boldt displayed a great eye at the plate with 27 walks to 27 strikeouts, while also leading the team with a .429 on-base percentage. During league play, Boldt ranked ninth in the Big Ten with a .374 average and tied for eighth in hits with 34, while his on-base percentage of .467 ranked fourth.
Boldt enters 2016 with 149 career hits and needs 51 hits to become the 24th player in school history with 200 career hits. He would also be just the 15th player in school history to reach the mark in three seasons.
Boldt also earned third-team academic All-America honors in 2015, becoming the 17th Husker baseball player to earn the honor.
Alex Gordon is the only Husker to ever win the Golden Spikes Award, as he won the Golden Spikes, Brooks Wallace and Dick Howser Awards in 2005, and he was also named ABCA Player of the Year. Two other Huskers have been finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, including Darin Erstad (1995) and Ken Harvey (1999).
Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 39th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 30 in Los Angeles. The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation’s top amateur players, from high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the season.
Starting on April 11 and ending April 17, fans will be able to nominate their favorite players for the Golden Spikes Award for the first time ever prior to the reveal of Midseason Watch List on April 20. The semifinalists list will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow the amateur game closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 38 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Fan voting will continue to be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2016, starting on June 1 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. Amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. On June 13, USA Baseball will announce the finalists and voting will begin that day and last until June 25.
