Aaron Nola Named One of Three Finalists for Prestigous Golden Spikes Award

LSU junior pitcher Aaron Nola has been selected from a group of 21 semi-finalists as one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award. The award is given annually to the nation's top amateur baseball player. Fans can vote on their favorite at GoldenSpikesAward.com!

USA Baseball's Cody Wilcoxson released the following report:

DURHAM, N.C. – LSU junior right-hander Aaron Nola is one of three finalists for the 2014  Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced on Tuesday.

USA Baseball unveiled the three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award in a selection show on GoldenSpikesAward.com. This year, the award will be presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player for the 37th consecutive season.

Fans will once again be able to vote for the 2014 award by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com and selecting their favorite finalist. Voting for fans ends at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, June 13.

You can vote for Aaron Nola HERE!

Of the 21 semifinalists that were voted on by a committee of more than 200 voters, Nola was joined by outfielder Michael Conforto of Oregon State and left-handed pitcher/infielder A.J. Reed of Kentucky as the three players selected as finalists for the award.

All three finalists are expected to be selected in Thursday’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Fans can continue to stay up to date on the GSA by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com -- powered by MLB Advanced Media -- which serves as the online home for the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past winner photo galleries and photographs and video highlights of the 2014 finalists.

Nola, a Baton Rouge native, was voted a 2014 Golden Spikes Award finalist after a year in which he became the only player to win the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year award in two consecutive years (2013 and 2014). The Tigers right-hander ranks second in the nation in strikeouts with 134 and led the SEC in innings pitched (116.1) and opponent batting average (.172) while collecting a 1.47 ERA and 11 wins this season. On top of winning conference pitcher of the year honors, Nola was named First Team All-American for 2014 and is third on the LSU career strikeouts list.

Conforto was voted a 2014 Golden Spikes Award finalist after a Pac-12 Conference-leading season. The Woodinville, Wash., native led the conference in a slew of categories, including slugging percentage (.547), on-base percentage (.504), and runs scored (52), and he finished fifth in the conference in batting average with a .345 mark. He also led the conference in walks with 55, which ranks second in the country. With that performance, Conforto earned the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year award for the second year in a row and was named First Team All-American.

Reed was voted a 2014 Golden Spikes Award finalist after a dominating performance as a two-way player. From the mound, Reed tallied 12 wins and compiled a 2.09 ERA while striking out 71 batters throughout the season as Kentucky’s Friday night starter. At the plate, he led the nation in home runs, clubbing 23 while hitting .336 with 73 RBIs. Reed was also named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, Collegiate Baseball magazine’s National Player of the Year for 2014 and First Team All-American.

The three players were named finalists after receiving the most votes during the semifinalist balloting round. During that round, 23 student-athletes received votes, including Carlos Rodon (North Carolina State) and Ben Wetzler (Oregon State) who tallied votes through the voting committee’s write-in option. After the three finalists, Wichita State’s Casey Gillaspie finished fourth in voting, followed by Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State), Aaron Brown (Pepperdine), Kyle Freeland (Evansville), Sam Travis (Indiana), Connor Joe (San Diego) and Michael Katz (William & Mary).

Following the presentation of the award on July 17, all three finalists will be celebrated at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles as part of the 2014 Rod Dedeaux Award Dinner. Hosted by the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the dinner will honor the Golden Spikes Award finalists, the Rod Dedeaux Award winner and the Rod Dedeaux USA Baseball Coach of the Year award winner.

In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it follows the same model again in 2014. After working closely with sports information directors and amateur baseball media across the country to determine watch lists and the top-performing athletes, a list of 21 semifinalists was sent to the GSA voting committee last week. The three players that received the most votes advanced to the finalist round, and beginning today, the committee will have the opportunity to vote for the winner.

About the Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. Following the first-ever presentation of the Award to Bob Horner of Arizona State, the Golden Spikes Award has been presented each year to the player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2012 Golden Spikes Award winner was Mike Zunino of the University of Florida.  Past winners of this prestigious award include current Major League Baseball players such as Bryce Harper (’10), Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price (’07), Tim Lincecum (’06), Alex Gordon (’05), Jered Weaver (’04), Rickie Weeks (’03) and Mark Kotsay (’95). Former Major League stars that have captured the award include Pat Burrell (’98), Ben McDonald (’89), Robin Ventura (’88), Jim Abbott (’87), Will Clark (’85), Dave Magadan (’83), Terry Francona (’80), Tim Wallach (’79), and Horner (’78).  For more information, please visit GoldenSpikesAward.com.  Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.

About USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United States and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.  The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Pan Am teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year.  USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country.  For more information, please visit USABaseball.com.