Tennessee Trio Named to Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
February 09, 2024 | Baseball
CARY, N.C. – The preseason honors continue to roll in for Tennessee as three players were named to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by USA Baseball on Friday afternoon.
The trio of Drew Beam, Billy Amick and Christian Moore were all recognized on this season's preseason watch list for one of college baseball's most prestigious awards. UT's three selections were the second most in the country, trailing only Wake Forest's four. This also marks the sixth consecutive season that the Vols have had at least one player make their way onto the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
The 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 athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.
In all, 41 schools and 16 conferences are represented on the 2024 preseason watch list. In addition to Wake Forest's four players and Tennessee's trio, nine other schools put multiple players on the 55-man list. The SEC led all conferences with 15 players, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 10 and the Big 12 with nine.
This is the latest in a lengthy list of preseason honors for Beam, Amick and Moore, who all earned Preseason All-SEC recognition earlier this week. All three have also been tabbed to multiple preseason All-America teams.
After winning SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2022, Beam had another impressive campaign in 2023, leading the team with nine victories in 17 starts to go along with a 3.63 ERA and a career-best 88 strikeouts to help lead UT to its sixth Men's College World Series appearance in program history.
Amick is set to embark on his first season with the program after spending his first two years at Clemson, where he earned second-team ABCA All-America honors and first-team All-SEC acclaim in 2023 after leading the Tigers with a .413 batting average, 17 doubles, a .772 slugging percentage and a 1.236 OPS. The South Carolina native also finished second on the team with 13 homers and 63 RBIs despite starting only 42 games.
Moore enters his junior season with high expectations after putting up impressive numbers over his first two years on Rocky Top. In his first year as an everyday starter in 2023, the Brooklyn, New York, native led the team with 66 runs scored, 129 total bases, 50 walks, a .444 on-base percentage and 16 stolen bases to go along with a .304 batting average, 13 doubles, 17 home runs and 50 RBIs.
To view the full 2024 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, click HERE.
Fan voting will 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.
The 2024 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
• April 4: Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List announced
• May 20: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 3: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
• June 5: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists' fan voting ends
• June 23: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
To stay up to date on the 2024 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter/X.
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Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America Second Team – D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game
Preseason All-America Third Team – Baseball America
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – 3B Â
RHPÂ Drew Beam
Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America First Team – Baseball America, NCBWA
Preseason All-America Second Team – D1Baseball, Perfect Game
Preseason All-SEC First Team – SP
1B Blake Burke
Preseason All-America Second Team – Baseball America
INF Christian Moore
Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America Third Team – D1Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA, Perfect Game
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – 2B Â
RHP AJ Russell
Preseason All-America Second Team – NCBWA
The trio of Drew Beam, Billy Amick and Christian Moore were all recognized on this season's preseason watch list for one of college baseball's most prestigious awards. UT's three selections were the second most in the country, trailing only Wake Forest's four. This also marks the sixth consecutive season that the Vols have had at least one player make their way onto the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
The 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 athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.
In all, 41 schools and 16 conferences are represented on the 2024 preseason watch list. In addition to Wake Forest's four players and Tennessee's trio, nine other schools put multiple players on the 55-man list. The SEC led all conferences with 15 players, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with 10 and the Big 12 with nine.
This is the latest in a lengthy list of preseason honors for Beam, Amick and Moore, who all earned Preseason All-SEC recognition earlier this week. All three have also been tabbed to multiple preseason All-America teams.
After winning SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2022, Beam had another impressive campaign in 2023, leading the team with nine victories in 17 starts to go along with a 3.63 ERA and a career-best 88 strikeouts to help lead UT to its sixth Men's College World Series appearance in program history.
Amick is set to embark on his first season with the program after spending his first two years at Clemson, where he earned second-team ABCA All-America honors and first-team All-SEC acclaim in 2023 after leading the Tigers with a .413 batting average, 17 doubles, a .772 slugging percentage and a 1.236 OPS. The South Carolina native also finished second on the team with 13 homers and 63 RBIs despite starting only 42 games.
Moore enters his junior season with high expectations after putting up impressive numbers over his first two years on Rocky Top. In his first year as an everyday starter in 2023, the Brooklyn, New York, native led the team with 66 runs scored, 129 total bases, 50 walks, a .444 on-base percentage and 16 stolen bases to go along with a .304 batting average, 13 doubles, 17 home runs and 50 RBIs.
To view the full 2024 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, click HERE.
Fan voting will 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.
The 2024 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
• April 4: Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List announced
• May 20: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 3: Golden Spikes Award semifinalists fan voting ends
• June 5: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced and fan voting begins
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award finalists' fan voting ends
• June 23: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
To stay up to date on the 2024 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter/X.
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2024 Tennessee Baseball Preseason Honors
INF Billy AmickGolden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America Second Team – D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game
Preseason All-America Third Team – Baseball America
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – 3B Â
RHPÂ Drew Beam
Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America First Team – Baseball America, NCBWA
Preseason All-America Second Team – D1Baseball, Perfect Game
Preseason All-SEC First Team – SP
1B Blake Burke
Preseason All-America Second Team – Baseball America
INF Christian Moore
Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
Preseason All-America Third Team – D1Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA, Perfect Game
Preseason All-SEC Second Team – 2B Â
RHP AJ Russell
Preseason All-America Second Team – NCBWA
Players Mentioned
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