Virginia’s Jake Gelof named semifinalist for Golden Spikes Award

Posted on Tuesday, May. 24, 2022, 10:19 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Zack Gelof (Photo: UVA Athletics)

Virginia third baseman Jake Gelof has been named as one of 31 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, annually bestowed on the top amateur baseball player of the year.

Gelof is the 10th semifinalist in program history, tied for the third-most of any college baseball program. Virginia has been represented in nine different years, tied for the second-most in the NCAA. The inclusion of Gelof as a semifinalist marks back-to-back season UVA has had a semifinalist. All 10 semifinalists in UVA history have played under head coach Brian O’Connor.

Gelof joins Nathan Kirby, Danny Hultzen and Jacob Thompson as the only UVA sophomores to be listed as a semifinalist.

Not included on the award’s initial watch list, Gelof played his way on to the midseason watch list after being named the D1Baseball Midseason Player of the Year. Gelof adds to a growing list of accolades that includes First Team All-ACC honors and a spot among the Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists.

Gelof is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons in program history batting .376 with 19 home runs and 74 RBI. The second year is three home runs shy and three RBI shy of matching UVA single-season records. He ranks in the top-10 nationally in RBI (4th) and slugging percentage (9th – .768) while his .376 batting average is the fifth highest in the ACC.

GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD SEMIFINALIST – UVA HISTORY

*Named Finalist for the award

Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.

The winner of the 44th Golden Spikes Award will be named on Friday, June 24, on ESPN. To stay up-to-date on the 2022 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.

The 2022 Golden Spikes Award timeline:

June 6: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends

June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, fan voting begins

June 14: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends

June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation

A complete list of the 2022 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists is as follows:

Name, Position, School, Conference

Chris Alleyne; OF; Maryland; Big Ten Conference

Jacob Berry; INF; LSU; Southeastern Conference

Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference

Justin Campbell; RHP; Oklahoma State; Big 12 Conference

Carlos Contreras; OF; Sam Houston; Western Athletic Conference

Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; Southeastern Conference

Gavin Cross; OF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference

Sonny DiChiara; INF; Auburn; Southeastern Conference

Kendal Ewell; OF; Eastern Kentucky; Atlantic Sun Conference

Jake Gelof; INF; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference

Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference

Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss.; Conference USA

Thomas Harrington; RHP; Campbell; Big South Conference

Cooper Hjerpe; LHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference

Gabriel Hughes; RHP; Gonzaga; West Coast Conference

Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference

Dominic Keegan; UTIL; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference

Ryan Lasko; OF; Rutgers; Big Ten Conference

Brooks Lee; SS; Cal Poly; Big West Conference

Trey Lipscomb; INF; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference

Ryan McCarty; INF; Penn State Abington; United East

Ivan Melendez; INF; Texas; Big 12 Conference

Jacob Melton; OF/INF; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference

Parker Messick; LHP; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference

Kevin Parada; C; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference

Tanner Schobel; INF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference

Daniel Susac; C; Arizona; Pac-12 Conference