Baseball: Gelof, Teel added to Midseason Watch List for Golden Spikes Award

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Juniors Jake Gelof and Kyle Teel were two of the 45 amateur baseball players included on USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List Wednesday. The Golden Spikes Award is annually presented to the country’s top amateur baseball player.

Virginia is one of 15 schools nationally with multiple players on the Midseason Watch List. Gelof is one of seven 2022 semifinalists for the award returning to this year’s midseason watch list. Both Gelof and Teel were featured on the award’s preseason watch list.

Teel has started every game this season at catcher and is batting .440 (51 for 116) with 10 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBI. The junior backstop currently leads the ACC in batting average and ranks fifth in the country with 51 hits. He ranks in the top-10 in the league in on-base percentage (2nd – .504), RBI (5th – 33), total bases (6th – 79) and slugging percentage (10th – .681). He’s statistically the third-toughest hitter in the ACC to strikeout, with 12 strikeouts in 116 at bats (strikeout every 9.7 AB).

Teel has been one of the most durable backstops in the country, starting 87-straight games at catcher dating back to last season. He has cut down nine of 18 would-be base stealers in 2023 season and sports a .997 fielding percentage, tied for the highest of any ACC fielder with more than 200 chances.

Gelof has continued where he left off at the plate last season when he became UVA’s 10th semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, tied for the fourth-most of any other college baseball program. Gelof has started every game at third base and is batting .357 (41 for 115) with 13 doubles, nine homers and 44 RBI. As of Wednesday, Gelof leads the ACC in RBI and RBI per game (1.52). Gelof’s 44 RBI are the sixth-most of any hitter in the country. His 33 career home runs are three shy of UVA’s all-time home run record held by E.J. Anderson (1995-98).

Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2023. Amateur baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning on May 22 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 7, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.

To stay up to date on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter.