COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Maryland baseball's Alex Calarco was one of 45 players named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. The award is given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the country. Calarco is the first Terp to feature on the midseason list since Matt Shaw in 2023.
Calarco is having a career year in his second season in College Park. Calarco has a .327 batting average, with seven doubles, 13 home runs, and 47 RBI. Calarco ranks in the top ten nationally in both home runs and RBI, and leads the Big Ten in both categories. Calarco was the first player in Division I to reach double-digit home runs this season, hitting his tenth home run on March 8 against UCLA.
This adds another national honor for the senior catcher. The Wilmette, Illinois native was named the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Hitter of the Month for February and was also named the Golden Spikes Award National Hitter of the Week.
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2025. Following the semifinalist announcement on May 18, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com to help determine the finalists and winner. The 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced in late June in conjunction with the end of the amateur baseball season.
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. The award goes to the amateur baseball player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner was Charlie Condon from the University of Georgia. Winners of this prestigious award from the past 20 years include Major League Baseball All-Stars such as Adley Rutschman ('19), Andrew Benintendi ('15), Kris Bryant ('13), Mike Zunino ('12), Trevor Bauer ('11), Bryce Harper ('10), Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price ('07), Tim Lincecum ('06), Alex Gordon ('05), and Jered Weaver ('04).
The Terps are back in action this weekend, as they travel to Champaign, Ill. for a three-game series against Big Ten foe Illinois. All three games of the series will be streamed on Big Ten Plus, and will also be available on the Maryland Baseball Network.
Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
Wehiwa Aloy, Junior, SS, Arkansas
Kade Anderson, Sophomore, LHP, LSU
Jamie Arnold - JR - LHP - Florida State - ACC
Aiva Arquette, Junior, SS, Oregon State
Max Bayles, Junior, RHP, Santa Clara
Trey Beard, Sophomore, LHP, Florida Atlantic
Tyler Bremner, Junior, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
Drew Burress, Sophomore , OF, Georgia Tech
Alex Calarco, Senior, C, Maryland
Cam Cannarella, Junior, OF, Clemson
Roch Cholowsky, Sophomore, SS, UCLA
Ethan Conrad, Junior, OF, Wake Forest
Korbyn Dickerson, Sophomore, CF, Indiana
Liam Doyle, Junior, RHP, Tennessee
Joseph Dzierwa, Junior, LHP, Michigan State
Hunter Elliott, Redshirt Junior, LHP, Ole Miss
Patrick Forbes, Junior, RHP, Louisville
Dominic Fritton, Junior, LHP, NC State
Seth Hernandez, Senior, RHP/INF, Corona HS (CA)
Ethan Holliday, Senior, INF, Stillwater HS (OK)
Marek Houston, Junior, SS, Wake Forest
Grant Jay, Junior, CF, Dallas Baptist
Jared Jones, Junior, 1B, LSU
Gavin Kilen, Junior, 2B, Tennessee
Aidan Knaak, Sophomore, RHP, Clemson
Jace LaViolette, Junior, OF, Texas A&M
Justin Lebron, Sophomore, SS, Alabama
Logan Lunceford, Junior, RHP, Wake Forest
Maximus Martin, Junior, SS, Kansas State
Wes Mendes, Sophomore, LHP, Florida State
Mason Neville, Junior, CF, Oregon
Adam Paniagua, Senior, C, Regis University (DII)
Liam Peterson, Sophomore, RHP, Florida
Ethan Petry, Junior, 1B, South Carolina
Marcus Phillips, Junior, RHP, Tennessee
Ryan Prager, Redshirt Junior, LHP, Texas A&M
James Quinn-Irons, Junior, CF, George Mason
Nolan Schubart, Junior, OF, Oklahoma State
Luke Stevenson, Sophomore, C, North Carolina
Brendan Summerhill, Junior, OF, Arizona
Devin Taylor, Junior, OF, Indiana
Joey Volini, Redshirt Junior, LHP, Florida State
Ryan Wideman, Junior, CF, Western Kentucky
Kyson Witherspoon, Junior, RHP, Oklahoma
Ryland Zaborowski, Graduate Student, 1B, Georgia
