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When is the last time the College World Series didn't feature Golden Spikes finalist?

craig meyer, usa today network
·4 min read

The Golden Spikes Award is amateur baseball’s most prestigious individual honor, with a list of winners littered with players who went on to earn glory and millions of dollars at the professional level.

Team success often follows those individual accolades, with previous Golden Spikes winners representing some of the best teams in college baseball in that given year. It doesn’t, however, always guarantee a championship — or, as is the case this year, even a spot in the College World Series.

When the 2024 CWS gets started on Friday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, none of the three finalists for this year’s Golden Spikes Award — Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana, Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Arkansas’ Hagen Smith — will be there. All three players made it to the 2024 NCAA Tournament and played on teams that received top-16 national seeds, but each fell short of the CWS, with Bazzana and Condon’s teams falling in the super regional stage and Smith’s Arkansas squad getting upset in the regional round.

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This year’s iteration of the CWS won’t be lacking in star power, with each of the sport’s top four seeds still alive. But for the first time in some time, it won’t include any of the players still in contention for college baseball’s top honor.

How long, exactly, has it been? Here’s a look at the last time the CWS didn’t feature a Golden Spikes finalist, other instances in which it happened and the history of players who won the Golden Spikes and the CWS:

When is the last time the College World Series didn’t include Golden Spikes finalist?

It has been exactly a decade since a Golden Spikes finalist was not on one of the eight teams that made it to Omaha for the CWS. In 2014, none of the three finalists even made it to the super regional stage.

Golden Spikes winner A.J. Reed of Kentucky was on a Wildcats team that was eliminated by archrival Louisville in the regional stage. Fellow finalists Michael Conforto of Oregon State and Aaron Nola of LSU saw their teams get upset in regionals they hosted, with the Beavers falling to UC Irvine and the Tigers getting knocked off by Houston.

Vanderbilt, which didn’t even have a Golden Spikes semifinalist on its roster, went on to win the CWS that season.

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Years College World Series didn’t feature Golden Spikes finalist

It’s not just that it has been a while since a CWS hasn’t featured a Golden Spikes finalist. Historically speaking, it’s a rare occurrence.

Since the Golden Spikes first had finalists in 1982, there have been just five instances of the CWS not including a finalist for the award, including in 2024. The Golden Spikes was first given out in 1978.

Here’s a list of previous CWS without a Golden Spikes finalist:

2024:

  • Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)

  • Charlie Condon (Georgia)

  • Hagen Smith (Arkansas)

2014

  • A.J. Reed (Kentucky)

  • Michael Conforto (Oregon State)

  • Aaron Nola (LSU)

2010

2007

  • Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt)

  • Matt LaPorta (Florida)

  • David Price (Vanderbilt)

  • Kyle Russell (Texas)

  • Tony Thomas Jr. (Florida State)

1982

  • Brent Friehauf (Bowie High School)

  • Jeff Ledbetter (Florida State)

  • John Morris (Seton Hall)

  • Jim Paciorik (Michigan)

  • Tom Scaletta (Cal Poly-Pomana)

  • Augie Schmidt (New Orleans)

  • Mike Trapasso (Jefferson College)

How many Golden Spikes winners have won the College World Series?

It’s just as uncommon for a Golden Spikes winner to help lead his team to a College World Series title as it is for a CWS to be without a Golden Spikes finalist.

Since the Golden Spikes’ inception in 1978, only four players have won the Golden Spikes and CWS in the same year. Last season, Dylan Crews of LSU, who went on to become the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, became the first player in 28 years to accomplish the feat.

Here’s the full list of players who have won the Golden Spikes and CWS in the same year:

  • Dylan Crews, LSU: 2023

  • Mark Kotsay, Cal State Fullerton: 1995

  • Terry Francona, Arizona: 1980

  • Tim Wallach, Cal State Fullerton: 1979

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: When is the last time the CWS didn't feature a Golden Spikes finalist?