CARY, N.C. – Maryland junior first baseman Maxwell Costes was named to the 2021 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, USA Baseball announced Thursday. Costes becomes just the fifth Terp in program history to contend for the award, which is presented annually to the top amateur baseball player in the nation.
Costes was one of 55 selections to be named to the prestigious award list and one of just three players from the Big Ten Conference (Steven Hajjar, Michigan; Seth Lonsway, Ohio State).
The Baltimore native joins Mike Shawaryn (2016) and Kevin Smith (2017) as the only Terps to ever appear on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. Brandon Lowe (2015) and Brian Shaffer (2017) also earned consideration for the award on the mid-season and semifinalist lists during their respective seasons.
Already named a Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA), Costes enters his junior campaign with considerable fanfare after a 2020 season in which he slashed .432/.620/.750 and blasted four homers in 15 games. His final on-base percentage of .620 ranked second in the nation while also leading the team in several other offensive categories.
Costes' freshman season was one of the most memorable in program history, as the Gilman School standout was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten after hitting 15 homers and 15 doubles in 2019.
The brother of former Terp Marty Costes, Maxwell has earned All-American plaudits following both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Costes earned Collegiate Baseball freshman All-America honors in 2019 after also being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while also earning third-team All-American honors from the publication after last spring's shortened season.
Also named D1Baseball's Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Costes' name frequently headlines the Terps in MLB Draft rankings across multiple outlets. Perfect Game rated him the No. 100 third-year college draft prospect in the nation, D1baseball.com tabs him as the No. 89 college draft prospect in the 2021 draft, while Baseball America selected Costes as one of 25 candidates for the best home run hitter in college baseball in October.
Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2021. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting on June 8 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 24 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through July 2.
The winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named in July.
Maryland opens its 2021 campaign with a four-game set vs. Michigan State in Greenville, South Carolina on the weekend of March 5-7. The Terps will play 44 games consisting of five weekends with four games and eight weekends of three-game series. Full schedule information can be found here.
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