DURHAM, N.C. – University of Hawai'i sophomore Kolten Wong was named to the 50-man watch list for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award, the honor given to the national player of the year as awarded by USA Baseball.

 

Wong is coming off one of the best freshman seasons in school history in 2009, batting .341 with 52 RBI, 46 runs, 11 home runs, 21 doubles, two triples and 11 stolen bases. The Hilo, Hawai'i, native was the WAC Freshman of the Year, earning first team all-WAC and second-team ABCA all-region honors. He was also named a freshman all-American by five different publications and played for the United States national team this past summer.

 

The watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, to be presented live on Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.

 

On Tuesday, June 1, USA Baseball officials will cut the watch list of players to 30 names.  The final list of 30 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff - close to 150 voters in total.  

Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2010.  June 1 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on GoldenSpikesAward.com.  As part of this selection process all voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 30 names.  On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day.

The 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 13 on an award show via live telecast from Anaheim on GoldenSpikesAward.com, USABaseball.com and MLB.com in conjunction with All-Star FanFest.

Past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006), David Price (2007), Buster Posey (2008) and last year's winner, Stephen Strasburg.

 

-UH-