USA Baseball announced the list of amateur players who made the 2026 Golden Spikes semifinalist list on May 14. It’s a deep one that includes several likely future first-round picks, including Grady Emerson, Roch Cholowsky, and Drew Burress.
Golden Spikes Semifinalist List
Here’s the list of 2026 Golden Spikes semifinalists:
| Name | Position | Class | School | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarren Advincula | INF | Junior | Georgia Tech | ACC |
| Drew Burress | OF | Junior | Georgia Tech | ACC |
| Lorenzo Carrier | OF | Redshirt Senior | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| Roch Cholowsky | INF | Junior | UCLA | Big Ten |
| Tague Davis | INF | Sophomore | Louisville | ACC |
| Jason DeCaro | RHP | Junior | North Carolina | ACC |
| Evan Dempsey | RHP/OF | Junior | FGCU | ASUN |
| Hunter Dietz | LHP | Redshirt Sophomore | Arkansas | SEC |
| Mason Edwards | LHP | Junior | Southern Cal | Big Ten |
| Grady Emerson | INF | Senior (HS) | Fort Worth Christian (HS) | N/A |
| Jackson Flora | RHP | Junior | UC Santa Barbara | Big West |
| Gavin Grahovac | INF | Junior | Texas A&M | SEC |
| Landon Hairston | INF | Sophomore | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| Ryder Helfrick | C | Junior | Arkansas | SEC |
| Daniel Jackson | C | Junior | Georgia | SEC |
| Gavin Kelly | C/INF | Sophomore | West Virginia | Big 12 |
| Dee Kennedy | INF | Junior | Kansas State | Big 12 |
| Aidan King | RHP | Sophomore | Florida | SEC |
| Vahn Lackey | C/INF | Junior | Georgia Tech | ACC |
| Kollin Ritchie | OF | Junior | Oklahoma State | Big 12 |
| Aiden Robbins | OF | Junior | Texas | SEC |
| Caden Sorrell | OF | Junior | Texas A&M | SEC |
| Cade Townsend | RHP | Sophomore | Ole Miss | SEC |
| Tomas Valincius | LHP | Sophomore | Mississippi State | SEC |
| Dylan Volantis | LHP | Sophomore | Texas | SEC |
Georgia Tech, which entered the final week of the 2026 regular season as the third-best team in the nation per the coaches’ poll, placed three players on the list: Drew Burress, Vahn Lackey, and Jarred Advincula.
Advincula is the current NCAA Division I hit leader at 93, while Burress is 11th with 79. Burress set some history, as he became the third player to make the semifinal list in three consecutive years. The only two to do it besides Burress were former Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay and Rice infielder Anthony Rendon.
Current D1 home run leader Tague Davis, who has 34 home runs on the season, made the list. As was Landon Hairston, who was tied for fifth alongside Quinton Coats (Cincinnati) and Daniel Jackson (UGA) with 25 home runs, is also on the list.
As for the pitchers, USC ace Mason Edwards is here. Edwards entered the final weekend with 142 strikeouts over 78.1 IP, which easily put him atop the D1 strikeout list. Flamethrower Jackson Flora, Hunter Dietz, and FGCU ace Evan Dempsey, three of the best strikeout pitchers aside from Edwards, are here, as well.
Additionally, shortstops Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson are here, as well. Both are, arguably, the two best players available in the 2026 MLB Draft. Emerson is the lone high school player.
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