CARY, N.C. – Georgia Tech standout catcher Kevin Parada (Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) has been named a finalist for the 2022 Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced on Wednesday. The 44th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 24 on ESPN.
The Golden Spikes Award is presented annually to the top amateur baseball player in the nation who best exhibits exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship. Parada joins Oregon State’s Cooper Hjerpe and Texas’ Ivan Melendez on the shortlist.
Parada, who just finished his second season on the Flats, joins an elite list of Yellow Jackets to be named a Golden Spikes Award finalist and is the first since Mark Teixeira in 2000. Also named from The Flats was Ty Griffin (1988) and Jason Varitek, who was a finalist in 1993 before winning the award in 1994.
A 2022 first-team All-American already, Parada had an excellent sophomore campaign in which he was named first-team all-ACC, a finalist for Buster Posey Award, semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and earned National Player of the Week honors three times.
The Pasadena, Calif. native ranked among the nation’s best all year, finishing the regular season ranking sixth with a school-record 26 home runs, second in total bases (174), third in RBI (85), fifth in runs (74) and 35th in hits (85). In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Parada led in runs and RBI, ranked third in home runs, fourth in hits and was the fourth-toughest hitter to strikeout in the league.
Parada started all 60 of Georgia Tech’s games this season, playing an impressive 55 of them behind the dish, where he posted a .992 fielding percentage and threw out 12 would-be base thieves.
A final ballot will be sent to the Golden Spikes Award voting body consisting of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, totaling a group more than 150 voters. From Wednesday, June 8 to Tuesday, June 14, the voting body will cast their final vote for the Golden Spikes Award winner and fan voting will simultaneously be open on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The presentation of the 44th Golden Spikes Award will take place on Friday, June 24 during the “College World Series Special” on ESPN.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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