Texas baseball star Ivan Melendez named finalist for Golden Spikes Award

Texas baseball first baseman Ivan Melendez has been named a finalist for the 2022 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, the organization announced Wednesday. The other two finalists for the award include Oregon State pitcher Cooper Hjerpe and Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada.

The winner will be announced on June 24 on ESPN during the College World Series coverage at 8 p.m. ET. Ivan Melendez hopes to add the Golden Spikes to his trophy collections which already includes Big 12 Player of the Year and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year.

Melendez led Texas to the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and a regional host position with his offensive firepower throughout the year. Through the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament, he leads the country in home runs with 30, slugging percentage at .895 and total bases with 204.

The numbers were also well-rounded, as he ranks Top 10 in the country in batting average, on-base percentage and RBIs. His defensive output was also among the best in the country, only committing one error in 489 chances at first base in the regular season.

Ivan Melendez setting record pace

In the first inning of the Big 12 Championship Game, Melendez — nicknamed The Hispanic Titanic — was crowned new home run king of the Longhorns. With 29 home runs on the season he is now the single-season record holder, breaking the previous record of 28 set by Kyle Russell in 2007. Russell remains the career leader in school history with 57 total home runs over his three-year career.

After hitting a first-inning home run against Air Force, Melendez saw his season tally go up to 30. Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball pointed out that the Longhorns’ slugger is the first to accomplish the feat since current Colorado Rockies third baseman/left fielder Kris Bryant did so in 2013. The San Diego star had 31 home runs in just 62 games, while Melendez is playing contest No. 64 of the year Sunday.