Aloy, Smith Named to Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas infielder Wehiwa Aloy and pitcher Hagen Smith have been named to the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which is presented annually to the best amateur baseball player in the nation.
The Golden Spikes Award’s preseason list includes 55 players across high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award’s watch list on a rolling basis, allowing student-athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.
Aloy, a Sacramento State transfer, was a consensus Freshman All-American last season after slashing .376/.427/.662 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 56 games. Also named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, he racked up 88 hits, including 15 doubles and five triples, with 69 runs scored during his rookie campaign in 2023.
The Hawai’i native enters the 2024 season, his first with the Razorbacks, as a preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The right-handed hitting infielder earned second-team recognition at shortstop.
Smith, meanwhile, was a consensus All-American in 2023 after making 18 appearances with 11 starts on the mound and posting an 8-2 record with a 3.64 ERA, a team-leading 109 strikeouts and a pair of saves in 71 2/3 innings of work during his outstanding sophomore campaign. The Bullard, Texas, native also limited opposing hitters to a .217 batting average.
A semifinalist for last year’s Golden Spikes Award and the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, Smith was one of two starting pitchers, along with LSU’s Paul Skenes, to receive All-SEC first-team honors one season ago. He became Arkansas’ first starting pitcher to earn All-SEC first-team accolades since Ryne Stanek in 2013.
Smith enters the 2024 campaign as an All-SEC first-team honoree, as well as a preseason All-American by Baseball America (first team), D1Baseball (first team), NCBWA (second team) and Perfect Game (first team). Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game have also tabbed the Razorbacks’ certified ace as the SEC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Aloy and Smith are the 14th and 15th Hogs since 2008 to earn a spot on the Golden Spikes Award’s preseason watch list. Two Razorbacks – outfielder Andrew Benintendi (2015) and pitcher Kevin Kopps (2021) – have previously won the award as the best amateur baseball player in the country, making Arkansas (2) just one of six schools, along with Florida State (4), Arizona State (3), Cal State Fullerton (3), LSU (2) and San Diego State (2), with multiple Golden Spikes Award winners.
Third-ranked Arkansas opens the 2024 season with a four-game series against James Madison at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch between the Razorbacks and Duke on Opening Day is set for 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, on SEC Network+.
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