USA Baseball Golden Spikes Release
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza were each named to the 2015 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List announced by USA Baseball on Tuesday as the organization marked its first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. In addition, it was also announced that Fullerton will have two televised games on ESPNU against Long Beach State on May 21 and 22 at Goodwin Field.
The Titans are one of seven programs to have multiple nominees for the Golden Spikes Award, which will be presented for the 38th time in 2015. Defending NCAA Champion Vanderbilt leads all schools with three nominees.
Eshelman and Garza are the only two players from the Big West Conference to appear on the 50-man preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List. Eshelman is also one of six players that have previously been named semifinalists for the award in their careers as the Carlsbad, Calif. native earned the distinction in 2013.
The Titans have three prior Golden Spikes Award winners: Tim Wallach (1979), Phil Nevin (1992), and Mark Kotsay (1995).
On the television front, the Titans will have the first two games of their final Big West Conference series of the season against Long Beach State air on ESPNU. Both games have also been moved to an 8 p.m. start for television. Each game will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible at WatchESPN.com or via the WatchESPN app via smartphones and tablets.
The Titans were also on ESPNU twice in 2014, defeating Hawai'i at Goodwin Field in the two televised games en route to a sweep over the Rainbow Warriors.
This preseason, Eshleman and Garza have been racking up the preseason accolades. Garza has been named to two preseason All-American teams (D1.Baseball.com and Louisville Slugger) while Eshelman has earned five preseason All-American nods (D1.Baseball.com, NCBWA, Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, Perfect Game).
Garza has compiled a 17-4 record in his first two seasons with the Titans to go along with a 2.49 ERA. After posting a 12-0 record as a freshman, Garza battled injuries midway through his sophomore year and finished with a 5-4 record in 2014 with a 3.22 ERA. To date, Garza has only one loss when the Titans score runs as three of his losses in 2014 came by shutout.
On May 23, Garza became the fourth Cal State Fullerton pitcher to toss a no-hitter as he held CSUN without a base hit. Garza was the first Titans pitcher to accomplish the feat since 2001 when Kirk Saarloos no-hit Pacific in a 28-0 victory. Garza walked three and struck out 12, matching his career high. He also tossed his first career complete game in the process and was named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week.
As for Eshelman, the Titans Friday-night starter returns to Fullerton for his junior season and has compiled a 20-6 record with a 1.69 ERA. He's tallied 182 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 32 starts and 239 and 1/3 innings pitched, tossing seven complete games including two shutouts.
As a sophomore in 2014, Eshelman went 8-3 with a 1.89 ERA and set a new career best with 99 strikeouts after fanning 83 batters as a freshman. He ranked first in the Big West and 10th in the nation with five complete games and posted a 0.87 WHIP, which placed him 12th overall in the nation. Eshelman also led the country with a 0.58 walks allowed per nine innings average along with a 12.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
More on the Golden Spikes Watch List
The preseason watch list features 50 of the nation's top amateur players, and will be a "rolling" list until May 22 -- when the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists are announced -- ensuring that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award throughout the collegiate and high school seasons.
On April 9, USA Baseball will release its 60-man midseason watch list, shaped by the Golden Spikes Award committee. 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 3, 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.
Anticipated Timeline for 2015 Golden Spikes Award announcements is:
• Tuesday, Feb. 10: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award 50-man preseason watch list
• Thursday, April 9: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award 60-man midseason watch list
• Thursday, May 7: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award 30-man preliminary list
• Friday, May 22: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists, voting begins
• Friday, May 29: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
• Tuesday, June 3: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists, voting begins
• Friday, June 12: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
• Tuesday, June 23: 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
