May 21, 2018

Bart Tabbed Semifinalist for Golden Spikes Award

DURHAM, N.C. – Georgia Tech standout catcher Joey Bart has been named a semifinalist for the 2018 Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced on Monday. Presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 41st Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 28 in Los Angeles.

Named a semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy, presented to college baseball’s top overall player, and Johnny Bench Award, given to college baseball’s top catcher, Bart was recently tabbed the ACC Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned a spot on the all-ACC first team.

A 2018 consensus preseason all-American, Bart leads Georgia Tech into this week’s ACC Baseball Championship as the conference leader in batting (.368), on-base percentage (.481), slugging percentage (.651) and total bases (138 in 55 games). He is tied for third among ACC players with 16 home runs and has driven in 38 runs.

In addition to posting standout offensive numbers, Bart boasts a .991 fielding percentage and has thrown out 12-of-33 baserunners on attempted steals.

Bart is ranked as the No. 1 catcher in all of Division I baseball by Baseball America and No. 2 by D1Baseball.com.

Bart joins an elite list of Yellow Jackets to be named a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist including Ty Griffin (1988), Jason Varitek (1993 & 1994), Mark Teixeira (2000), Danny Payne (2007), Matt Wieters(2007), Deck McGuire (2009), Derek Dietrich (2010), Mark Pope (2011) and Zane Evans (2013).

Varitek won the award in 1994, while Griffin (1988), Varitek (1993) and Teixeira (2000) were all finalist.

Beginning with the announcement of semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to the Golden Spikes Award voting body consisting of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel, previous Golden Spikes Award winners and select USA Baseball staff, totaling a group of over 200 voters.

From Monday, May 21 through Sunday, June 3, the voting body will select three semifinalists from the ballot to be named as Golden Spikes Award finalists and fan voting will simultaneously be open on GoldenSpikesAward.com. Selections made by the voting body will carry a 95% weight of each athlete’s total, while fan votes will account for the remaining 5%.

The finalists will then be announced on Wednesday, June 6. Beginning that same day through Friday, June 22, the voting body and fans will be able to cast their final vote for the Golden Spikes Award winner. Brendan McKay took home the prestigious award last year, joining a group of recent winners that include Kyle Lewis (2016), Andrew Benintendi (2015), A.J. Reed (2014), Kris Bryant (2013), Mike Zunino (2012), Trevor Bauer (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008), and David Price (2007).

The winner of the 41st Golden Spikes Award will be named on Thursday, June 28, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Award Dinner that evening at Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.

USA Baseball has partnered with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation to host the Golden Spikes Award since 2013. The Foundation was formed to honor legendary USC and USA Baseball Olympic team coach, Rod Dedeaux, and supports youth baseball and softball programs in underserved communities throughout Southern California.

A complete list of the 25 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists is as follows:

Name, Class, Position, School, Conference

Joey Bart; Jr.; C; Georgia Tech; ACC

Alec Bohm; Jr.; IF; Wichita State; American Athletic

Kyle Brnovich; So.; RHP; Elon; Colonial Athletic

Brian Brown; Sr.; LHP; NC State; ACC

Kody Clemens; Jr.; IF; Texas; Big 12

Frank German; Jr.; RHP; North Florida; Atlantic Sun

Logan Gilbert; Jr.; RHP; Stetson; Atlantic Sun

Devlin Granberg; Sr.; IF/OF; Dallas Baptist; Missouri Valley

Luke Heyer; Sr.; IF/OF; Kentucky; SEC

Jonathan India; Jr.; IF; Florida; SEC