Jac Caglianone named Golden Spikes Award Finalist

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida baseball two-way standout Jac Caglianone has been named one of three finalists for the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, as announced by USA Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.

The winner of the 45th Golden Spikes Award will be announced on June 25 during a special presentation on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” at 2:30 p.m. ET, leading into game two of the College World Series finals.

“USA Baseball is honored to name Jac Caglianone, Dylan Crews, and Paul Skenes the finalists for the 2023 Golden Spikes Award,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “All three of these athletes are beyond worthy of this recognition, thanks to both their terrific play on the field and their tremendous character off the field. The winner of this award will join a long list of established and successful baseball players, and we look forward to crowning the recipient of the 45th Golden Spikes Award later this month.”

Caglianone is the sixth Gator in program history to be announced as a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the first since Brady Singer in 2018. Mike Zunino is the lone Florida player to win the award (2012).

Caglianone is in the midst of a record-breaking season for the Gators and has been a key contributor in their run to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Tampa, Fla. native leads the nation with 31 home runs, which broke Florida’s single-season record. He also ranks fifth in the country with 84 RBIs and sits first in the SEC and second in the nation with 194 total bases.

The All-SEC First Teamer owns a .779 slugging percentage and has collected 84 hits, good for third and fifth-best in the conference, respectively. On the mound, Caglianone is 7-3 with a 3.78 ERA over 16 starts. He has allowed the third-fewest hits of any qualified pitcher in the SEC and is holding opponents to a fourth-lowest .184 batting average against.

Not the first honor for Caglianone

Caglianone has twice been named the SEC Player of the Week and was the MVP of the Gainesville Regional just last weekend.

Additionally, this is only the third time in the award’s history that all of the finalists come from the same conference, with the SEC being responsible for all three instances. In both 2015 and 2021, all of the finalists represented SEC schools.

Historically, Golden Spikes Award winners have gone on to have tremendous success in the Major Leagues. Of the 44 previous winners, six have earned Rookie of the Year honors, including Lewis in 2020. Additionally, three have won the Cy Young award, three were named MVP, and 11 have won a World Series championship as a player or manager, combining for 18 championships. Twenty previous winners have also been named to at least one All-Star Game roster as a player or manager, combining for 61 total selections.

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 of more than 150 voters. From Wednesday, June 7, to Monday, June 12, the voting body will cast their final vote for the Golden Spikes Award winner and fan voting will simultaneously be open on GoldenSpikesAward.com. To stay up to date on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.

Florida’s All-Time Golden Spikes Award Finalists
Brad Wilkerson, 1998
Matt LaPorta, 2007
Mike Zunino, 2012
Logan Shore, 2016
Brady Singer, 2018
Jac Caglianone, 2023