University of North Carolina Athletics
Three Tar Heels Among Golden Spikes Semifinalists
May 20, 2008 | Baseball
May 20, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - No. 1 North Carolina leads the way with three of the 50 semifinalists for the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which were announced Tuesday. Sophomores Dustin Ackley, Tim Fedroff and Alex White earned spots on the list, as the Tar Heels topped eight schools with eight two honorees each.
Ackley, Fedroff and White each earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and were honored Tuesday night at the league's annual postseason awards banquet. The Tar Heels open the 2008 ACC Championship Wednesday against Virginia.
In total, 40 colleges and universities are represented on the 2008 semifinalist list. Among conferences, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is tops with nine players on the list, and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Pacific-10 Conference (PAC-10) have eight and seven players, respectively.
This year will mark the 31st consecutive year that the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award has been presented to the nation's premier amateur baseball player.
Tuesday also marks the launch of GoldenSpikesAward.com, powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. The new Web site features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, voting history, past-winner photo galleries, and photographs and video highlights for 2008 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 50 players is narrowed to five finalists on Tuesday, June 3, en route to the announcement of this year's winner on Wednesday, July 16.
The 2008 GSA will be awarded as part of a production by Major League Baseball and MLBAM that will be streamed live on the Internet exclusively at GoldenSpikesAward.com and MLB.com. The annual event will be held in New York City following MLB All-Star Week with a time and location to be announced in early June.
In 2007, USA Baseball instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball, and it will follow the same model again in 2008. After accepting nominations from sports information directors across the country, a committee voted to determine the 50 semifinalists. The names of the 50 semifinalists will now be forwarded to a voting body of 125 who will select the five finalists and the eventual 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award winner.
"USA Baseball is proud to recognize these 50 athletes and their respective baseball programs as semifinalists for the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award," said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO. "As in 2007, we see 40 different schools represented on this year's semifinalist list - this again speaks to the level of baseball talent among college programs across the country."
