NEW ORLEANS – Tulane University right-handed pitcher Braden Olthoff continued to add to his list of preseason accolades, as he was named to the 2021 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
The list was announced on Thursday by USA Baseball and begins the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2021 season.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the Golden Spikes Award back this year and kicking off the 2021 amateur baseball season with the fifty-five-player preseason watch list,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The athletes who make up this year’s initial watch list have an incredible amount of talent and we are looking forward to their return to the diamond so we can follow their journeys during what will undoubtedly be a highly competitive season.”
The Vista, California native was the only pitcher from the American Athletic Conference that was selected to the preseason watch list.
Olthoff received the recognition after he posted perhaps the best start to a career by a pitcher in program history with a 4-0 record in four starts while posting a microscopic 0.32 ERA with 47 strikeouts across 28 innings of work. He walked just three batters and held opposing hitters to just 12 hits and a .128 batting average.
Olthoff’s most recent honor adds to a preseason list of accolades which also includes American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, Third Team All-America by D1Baseball, Third Team All-America by Perfect Game and Second Team All-America from Collegiate Baseball.
The Green Wave ace ranked second in all of NCAA Division I baseball in wins, third in strikeouts and sixth in WHIP (0.54). He racked up double-digit strikeouts in three of his four starts, including 10 against Florida Gulf Coast in the season opener, 16 in a complete-game shutout at Cal State Fullerton (third most in program history) and 13 against Southern. In the one outing he didn’t reach 10 punchouts, Olthoff rung up eight hitters over the first six innings of what eventually turned into Tulane’s first no-hitter since 2005.
Olthoff garnered multiple awards early in the year when he was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks in February and was recognized as Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s National Athlete of the Week during the same stretch. He was also tabbed the Allstate Sugar Bowl Amateur Athlete of the Month and the Louisiana Sports Writers’ Association’s Pitcher of the Month for February.
Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2021. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting on June 8 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 24 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through July 2.
The winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named in July. To stay up-to-date on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
April 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list announced
June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, fan voting begins
June 15: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, fan voting begins
July 2: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends
July: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
A complete list of the 55-player USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list is as follows:
Name; Position; School; Conference
Andrew Abbott; LHP; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Kevin Abel; RHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Hunter Barco; LHP; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Alex Binelas; 3B; Louisville; Atlantic Coast Conference
Mason Black; RHP; Lehigh; Patriot League
Tyler Black; 2B; Wright State; Horizon League
Brooks Carlson; 2B; Samford; SoCon Conference
Parker Chavers; OF; Coastal Carolina; Sun Belt Conference
Maxwell Costes; 1B; Maryland; Big 10 Conference
Colton Cowser; OF; Sam Houston State; Southland Conference
Ryan Cusick; RHP; Wake Forest; Atlantic Coast Conference
Henry Davis; C; Louisville; Atlantic Coast Conference
Adrian Del Castillo; C; Miami; Atlantic Coast Conference
Trenton Denholm; RHP; UC Irvine; Big West Conference
Josh Elvir; OF; Angelo State; Lone Star Conference
Jud Fabian; OF; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Max Ferguson; 2B; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Richard Fitts; RHP; Auburn; Southeastern Conference
Christian Franklin; OF; Arkansas; Southeastern Conference
Sal Frelick; OF; Boston College; Atlantic Coast Conference
Zack Gelof; 3B; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Hunter Goodman; C/UTL; Memphis; American Athletic Conference
Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference
Steve Hajjar; LHP; Michigan; Big 10 Conference
Mo Hanley; OF/LHP; Adrian; Michigan Intercollegiate Conference
Jaden Hill; RHP; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Gunnar Hoglund; RHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern Conference
Grant Holman; RHP/1B; California; Pac-12 Conference
Jordan Lawlar; INF; Dallas Jesuit High School
Jack Leiter; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Seth Lonsway; LHP; Ohio State; Big 10 Conference
Tommy Mace; RHP; Florida; Southeastern Conference
Christian MacLeod; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern Conference
Ty Madden; RHP; Texas; Big 12 Conference
Robby Martin; OF; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Michael McGreevy; RHP; UC Santa Barbara; Big West
Matt McLain; SS; UCLA; Pac-12 Conference
Troy Melton; RHP; San Diego State; Mountain West Conference
Robert Moore; 2B; Arkansas; Southeastern Conference
Cody Morissette; 3B; Boston College; Atlantic Coast Conference
Dylan Neuse; OF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference
Doug Nikhazy; LHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern Conference
Braden Olthoff; RHP; Tulane; American Athletic Conference
Andrew Painter; RHP; Calvary Christian High School
Connor Pavolony; C; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Zach Pettway; RHP; UCLA; Pac-12 Conference
Connor Prielipp; LHP; Alabama; Southeastern Conference
Kumar Rocker; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Bobby Seymour; 1B; Wake Forest; Atlantic Coast Conference
Alex Toral; 1B; Miami; Atlantic Coast Conference
Jose Torres; INF; NC State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Luis Vargas; OF; Wayland Baptist; Sooner Athletic Conference
Luke Waddell; SS; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
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