Crownover named to prestigious watch list

by Press Release - Thu Apr 09 15:45:27 GMT-04:00 2015

DURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball released its 60-player midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list on Thursday, continuing the journey to naming the top amateur baseball player in the country in a presentation on Tuesday, June 23, in Los Angeles.

The list includes eight players from the ACC: Boston College OF Chris Shaw, Clemson LHP Matthew CrownoverMatthew Crownover
Jr. LH Pitcher
#44 6-0, 210
Ringgold, GA
View Full Profile , Florida State OF DJ Stewart, Louisville RHP Kyle Funkhouser and IF/OF Brendan McKay, Miami 3B David Thompson, Virginia LHP Nathan Kirby, and Wake Forest 1B/RHP Will Craig.

ACC players have previously won the award four times: Georgia Tech’s Jason Varitek (1994), Florida State’s J.D. Drew (1997), Clemson’s Khalil Greene (2002), and Florida State’s Buster Posey (2008)

Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, 2015 marks the 38th year of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award.

Thirty-seven new players were added to the list since its initial release on February 10, joining 23 others from the preseason watch list. The Southeastern Conference led all conferences in watch list players, placing 15 on the midseason update, while 17 different NCAA conferences had at least one athlete on the list. The Pac 12 Conference had 11 athletes, while the Atlantic Coast Conference had eight on the list.

On May 22, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award. 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 37 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.

Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2015. Friday, May 22, marks the day when amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list. On Tuesday, June 2, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day.

The 2015 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Tuesday, June 23, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Dinner that evening at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.