Janek named to Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
4/4/2024 2:05:00 PM | Baseball
CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball named the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List on Thursday, continuing the process of identifying the best amateur baseball player in the country, with Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek among the 45-player list of the nation's top athletes from the college and high school ranks. Â
Janek is the second player in Sam Houston history to be named to the award's midseason watch list, joining Carlos Contreras in 2022. Should he be named a semifinalist for the award, he would join Contreras and Colton Cowser (2021) as the only Kats' to be named as semifinalists.Â
The junior from Portland, Texas, is one of 27 athletes to have played their way onto the list since the announcement of the Preseason Watch List on February 9. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes throughout the season, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before the announcement of the semifinalists on May 20.Â
Janek is one of three Conference USA players to be on list, joined by Louisiana Tech's Ethan Bates and Dallas Baptist's Ryan Johnson. He is also one of only five catchers on the list, joined by Jacob Cozart (NC State), Ike Irish (Auburn), Grant Knipp (Campbell) and Caleb Lomavita (California).Â
Janek has taken another step forward with his play at the plate in 2024 as he leads the Bearkats in batting average (.371), hits (43), runs (24), doubles (11), on-base percentage (.457) and has also added six homers, 24 RBI and is 6-for-7 on stolen bases. Â
Those numbers include a 23-game hit streak to open the season, the longest hitting streak by a Bearkat to open a season in the history of the program and the third-longest overall. Â
But he has been outstanding behind the plate, throwing out 10 of 19 attempted base stealers this season with a pair of pickoffs. Entering this weekend's series at New Mexico, Bearkat opponents are only 11-for-22 on stolen bases this year overall and did not have a steal for the bulk of the month of March with Janek behind the plate, a stretch of 15 consecutive games without a successful swipe.Â
Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2024. Baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com beginning on May 20 with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 5 and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.Â
Season tickets for Bearkat Baseball are available through the Bearkat Ticket Office at 936-294-1729 or by visiting GoBearkats.com/tickets.Â
For updates on Bearkat Baseball, be sure to check GoBearkats.com and follow @BearkatsBSB on X and Instagram.
