Janek named Golden Spikes Award semifinalist
5/20/2024 2:05:00 PM | Baseball
CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball announced Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek as one of the 25 semifinalists for the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List on Monday.Â
The 46th Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country, will be presented on June 22 at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN ahead of Game 1 of the College World Series finals.Â
Janek was initially named to the 45-player watch list in April and is now the third Sam Houston player to be named a semifinalist in the award's history, joining Colton Cowser (2021) and Carlos Contreras (2022).Â
The junior from Portland, Texas, is joined by Dallas Baptist pitcher Ryan Johnson as representatives from Conference USA on the list.Â
Janek has been one been one of the top hitters in the country since he opened the year with a 23-game hit streak. He will enter this week's Conference USA Tournament sporting a .381/.492/.793 slash line which includes 17 home runs, 15 doubles, five triples, 57 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Â
Those offensive numbers are bolstered even further by what he has done behind the plate where he has almost singlehandedly eliminated opponent's running games in 2024, throwing out 15 of 29 attempted base stealers this season with a pair of pickoffs. Â
Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2024. Baseball fans can vote for Janek on GoldenSpikesAward.com beginning today 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
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