Drew Thorpe (left) and Brooks Lee (right) have made their way to the semifinal watch list for the 2022 Golden Spikes Award.
Lee, Thorpe Advance to Golden Spikes Award Semifinal Watch List
5/24/2022 1:26:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee and Mustang starting pitcher Drew Thorpe are among 31 semifinalists for the 2022 Golden Spikes Award, moving one step closer to the annual presentation of the best amateur baseball player of the year.
The 44th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 24 on ESPN.
Lee currently sports a .374 batting average with 24 doubles, 15 home runs -- tied for No. 5 on Cal Poly's all-time single-season home run list with Grant Desme (2007) and Luke Yoder (2010) -- and 54 RBIs in 55 games. He produced a 19-game hitting streak earlier this year and leads the Big West Conference in hits (83), doubles, home runs, total bases (154), walks (44) and slugging percentage (.694). He is second with his .476 on-base percentage and third with his .374 batting average.
Lee, who homered in all four games last week en route to Big West Field Player of the Week honors, was a five-time All-American a year ago and five-time preseason All-American this spring.
Thorpe has compiled a 9-1 win-loss record and 2.23 ERA with 13 quality starts in a row. He leads the Big West in wins and his 139 strikeouts are first in the conference and No. 1 in the nation -- three ahead of both Shemar Page of Grambling and Parker Messick of Florida State. Thorpe has produced double-digit strikeouts eight times this season, including a school Division I record-tying 15 strikeouts against UC San Diego in late March, and 12 times in his career.
Thorpe also is first in the Big West with 14 starts and 96 2/3 innings pitched and No. 2 in opponents' batting average at .173.
Both redshirt sophomores, Lee and Thorpe played in the Cape Cod League last summer as well as on the Collegiate National Team and both are on the Dick Howser Trophy semifinal watch list as well this year.
Southpaw pitcher Matt Imhof is Cal Poly's only other Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, earning the honor in 2014.
Twenty-six different universities are represented by the 2022 semifinalists, and the list includes 11 athletes who have played their way into consideration since the midseason list was announced on April 5. Additionally, the list of semifinalists is headlined by Jacob Berry (LSU) and Jace Jung (Texas Tech) who are both making their second semifinalist list appearances this year after also earning the honor in 2021.
Since 2007, 32 athletes have been named a semifinalist more than once in their careers, including past Golden Spikes Award winners Stephen Strasburg (2009), Mike Zunino (2012), Kris Bryant (2013), Brendan McKay (2017), and Andrew Vaughn (2018).
"We are thrilled to honor these accomplished student-athletes as semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award," said USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler. "With the huge wealth of talent in our sport right now, we are excited to recognize the contributions these athletes are making to their teams and schools. Each of these semifinalists showcase the caliber of players within amateur baseball as they each have excelled both on and off the field. We cannot wait to continue watching their journeys this season."
Cal Poly, Oregon State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and LSU are the only schools with multiple semifinalists on the list.
Also earning semifinalist honors in 2022 is Ryan McCarty (Penn State Abington), who put together an unmatched regular season in which he won the NCAA Division III Triple Crown and paced college baseball offensively throughout the year.
McCarty finished his historic senior season with the Division III single-season record for total bases (220) and led all of the NCAA in batting average (.529), hits (100), RBIs (91), slugging percentage (1.164), and total bases, while his 29 home runs and 89 runs scored led Division III and tied for the top mark in all of NCAA baseball. He looks to become the first Golden Spikes Award winner from a non-Division I program since Bryce Harper won the award in 2010.
In total, at least one athlete from 12 different NCAA conferences has earned semifinalist honors this year. The Atlanta Coast Conference leads all conferences represented with seven athletes on the list, while six players represent the Southeastern Conference, four hail from the Big 12, and three compete in the Pac-12.
Arkansas' Kevin Kopps took home the prestigious award in 2021.
Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 150 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 8, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
2022 Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists
Name, Position, School, Conference
Chris Alleyne; OF; Maryland; Big Ten Conference
Jacob Berry; INF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Justin Campbell; RHP; Oklahoma State; Big 12 Conference
Carlos Contreras; OF; Sam Houston; Western Athletic Conference
Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Gavin Cross; OF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Sonny DiChiara; INF; Auburn; Southeastern Conference
Kendal Ewell; OF; Eastern Kentucky; Atlantic Sun Conference
Jake Gelof; INF; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference
Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss.; Conference USA
Thomas Harrington; RHP; Campbell; Big South Conference
Cooper Hjerpe; LHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Gabriel Hughes; RHP; Gonzaga; West Coast Conference
Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference
Dominic Keegan; UTIL; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Ryan Lasko; OF; Rutgers; Big Ten Conference
Brooks Lee; SS; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
Trey Lipscomb; INF; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Ryan McCarty; INF; Penn State Abington; United East
Ivan Melendez; INF; Texas; Big 12 Conference
Jacob Melton; OF/INF; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Parker Messick; LHP; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Kevin Parada; C; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Tanner Schobel; INF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Daniel Susac; C; Arizona; Pac-12 Conference
Drew Thorpe; RHP; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
Max Wagner; INF; Clemson; Atlantic Coast Conference
Tommy White; INF; NC State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Jacob Wilson; INF; Grand Canyon; Western Athletic Conference
The 44th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 24 on ESPN.
Lee currently sports a .374 batting average with 24 doubles, 15 home runs -- tied for No. 5 on Cal Poly's all-time single-season home run list with Grant Desme (2007) and Luke Yoder (2010) -- and 54 RBIs in 55 games. He produced a 19-game hitting streak earlier this year and leads the Big West Conference in hits (83), doubles, home runs, total bases (154), walks (44) and slugging percentage (.694). He is second with his .476 on-base percentage and third with his .374 batting average.
Lee, who homered in all four games last week en route to Big West Field Player of the Week honors, was a five-time All-American a year ago and five-time preseason All-American this spring.
Thorpe has compiled a 9-1 win-loss record and 2.23 ERA with 13 quality starts in a row. He leads the Big West in wins and his 139 strikeouts are first in the conference and No. 1 in the nation -- three ahead of both Shemar Page of Grambling and Parker Messick of Florida State. Thorpe has produced double-digit strikeouts eight times this season, including a school Division I record-tying 15 strikeouts against UC San Diego in late March, and 12 times in his career.Thorpe also is first in the Big West with 14 starts and 96 2/3 innings pitched and No. 2 in opponents' batting average at .173.
Both redshirt sophomores, Lee and Thorpe played in the Cape Cod League last summer as well as on the Collegiate National Team and both are on the Dick Howser Trophy semifinal watch list as well this year.
Southpaw pitcher Matt Imhof is Cal Poly's only other Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, earning the honor in 2014.
Twenty-six different universities are represented by the 2022 semifinalists, and the list includes 11 athletes who have played their way into consideration since the midseason list was announced on April 5. Additionally, the list of semifinalists is headlined by Jacob Berry (LSU) and Jace Jung (Texas Tech) who are both making their second semifinalist list appearances this year after also earning the honor in 2021.
Since 2007, 32 athletes have been named a semifinalist more than once in their careers, including past Golden Spikes Award winners Stephen Strasburg (2009), Mike Zunino (2012), Kris Bryant (2013), Brendan McKay (2017), and Andrew Vaughn (2018).
"We are thrilled to honor these accomplished student-athletes as semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award," said USA Baseball Executive Director and CEO Paul Seiler. "With the huge wealth of talent in our sport right now, we are excited to recognize the contributions these athletes are making to their teams and schools. Each of these semifinalists showcase the caliber of players within amateur baseball as they each have excelled both on and off the field. We cannot wait to continue watching their journeys this season."
Cal Poly, Oregon State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and LSU are the only schools with multiple semifinalists on the list.
Also earning semifinalist honors in 2022 is Ryan McCarty (Penn State Abington), who put together an unmatched regular season in which he won the NCAA Division III Triple Crown and paced college baseball offensively throughout the year.
McCarty finished his historic senior season with the Division III single-season record for total bases (220) and led all of the NCAA in batting average (.529), hits (100), RBIs (91), slugging percentage (1.164), and total bases, while his 29 home runs and 89 runs scored led Division III and tied for the top mark in all of NCAA baseball. He looks to become the first Golden Spikes Award winner from a non-Division I program since Bryce Harper won the award in 2010.
In total, at least one athlete from 12 different NCAA conferences has earned semifinalist honors this year. The Atlanta Coast Conference leads all conferences represented with seven athletes on the list, while six players represent the Southeastern Conference, four hail from the Big 12, and three compete in the Pac-12.
Arkansas' Kevin Kopps took home the prestigious award in 2021.
Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 150 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 8, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
2022 Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists
Name, Position, School, Conference
Chris Alleyne; OF; Maryland; Big Ten Conference
Jacob Berry; INF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Justin Campbell; RHP; Oklahoma State; Big 12 Conference
Carlos Contreras; OF; Sam Houston; Western Athletic Conference
Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; Southeastern Conference
Gavin Cross; OF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Sonny DiChiara; INF; Auburn; Southeastern Conference
Kendal Ewell; OF; Eastern Kentucky; Atlantic Sun Conference
Jake Gelof; INF; Virginia; Atlantic Coast Conference
Peyton Graham; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12 Conference
Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss.; Conference USA
Thomas Harrington; RHP; Campbell; Big South Conference
Cooper Hjerpe; LHP; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Gabriel Hughes; RHP; Gonzaga; West Coast Conference
Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12 Conference
Dominic Keegan; UTIL; Vanderbilt; Southeastern Conference
Ryan Lasko; OF; Rutgers; Big Ten Conference
Brooks Lee; SS; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
Trey Lipscomb; INF; Tennessee; Southeastern Conference
Ryan McCarty; INF; Penn State Abington; United East
Ivan Melendez; INF; Texas; Big 12 Conference
Jacob Melton; OF/INF; Oregon State; Pac-12 Conference
Parker Messick; LHP; Florida State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Kevin Parada; C; Georgia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Tanner Schobel; INF; Virginia Tech; Atlantic Coast Conference
Daniel Susac; C; Arizona; Pac-12 Conference
Drew Thorpe; RHP; Cal Poly; Big West Conference
Max Wagner; INF; Clemson; Atlantic Coast Conference
Tommy White; INF; NC State; Atlantic Coast Conference
Jacob Wilson; INF; Grand Canyon; Western Athletic Conference
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballCal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 17th, 2025
Sunday, May 18
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 16th, 2025
Saturday, May 17
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 15th, 2025
Friday, May 16
Cal Poly vs. Pepperdine, Baseball Highlights -- May 6th, 2025
Wednesday, May 07
