USA Baseball announced the list of players who made the 2026 Golden Spikes midseason watch list on April 2. The list highlights many of the top performers from the Division I (DI) circuit since the middle of February, including Roch Cholowsky, Justin Lebron, and Landon Hairston.
2026 Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List
Here’s the list of players who made the midseason watch list:
| Name | Class | Position | School | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarren Advincula | JR | INF | Georgia Tech | ACC |
| Myles Bailey | SO | INF | Florida State | ACC |
| Trey Beard | JR | LHP | Florida State | ACC |
| Tristan Bissetta | SR | OF | Ole Miss | SEC |
| Ben Blair | JR | RHP | Liberty | CUSA |
| Jake Brown | JR | OF | LSU | SEC |
| Lorenzo Carrier | R-SR | OF | Pittsburgh | ACC |
| Roch Cholowsky | JR | INF | UCLA | Big Ten |
| Quinton Coats | SO | INF | Cincinnati | Big 12 |
| Daniel Cuvet | JR | INF | Miami | ACC |
| Tague Davis | SO | INF | Louisville | ACC |
| Jason DeCaro | JR | RHP | North Carolina | ACC |
| Evan Dempsey | JR | RHP/OF | FGCU | ASUN |
| Mason Edwards | JR | LHP | Southern Cal | Big Ten |
| Grady Emerson | SR (HS) | INF | Fort Worth Christian (HS) | N/A |
| Jackson Flora | JR | RHP | UC Santa Barbara | Big West |
| Henry Ford | JR | INF/OF | Tennessee | SEC |
| Will Gasparino | JR | OF | UCLA | Big Ten |
| Grant Govel | SO | RHP | Southern Cal | Big Ten |
| AJ Gracia | JR | OF | Virginia | ACC |
| Landon Hairston | SO | INF | Arizona State | Big 12 |
| Ryder Helfrick | JR | C | Arkansas | SEC |
| Daniel Jackson | JR | C/OF | Georgia | SEC |
| Dee Kennedy | JR | INF | Kansas State | Big 12 |
| Vahn Lackey | JR | C/INF | Georgia Tech | ACC |
| Brendan Lawson | SO | INF | Florida | SEC |
| Justin Lebron | JR | INF | Alabama | SEC |
| Chris Levonas | SO | RHP | Wake Forest | ACC |
| Mulivai Levu | JR | INF | UCLA | Big Ten |
| Jake Marciano | SO | LHP | Auburn | SEC |
| Wes Mendes | JR | LHP | Florida State | ACC |
| LJ Mercurius | JR | RHP | Oklahoma | SEC |
| Tre Phelps | JR | INF/OF | Georgia | SEC |
| Jack Radel | JR | RHP | Notre Dame | ACC |
| Logan Reddemann | JR | RHP | UCLA | Big Ten |
| Ace Reese | JR | INF | Mississippi State | SEC |
| Ruger Riojas | SR | RHP | Texas | SEC |
| Aiden Robbins | JR | OF | Texas | SEC |
| Drew Smith | SR | INF/OF | Oregon | Big Ten |
| Caden Sorrell | JR | OF | Texas A&M | SEC |
| Sawyer Strosnider | SO | OF | TCU | Big 12 |
| Tomas Valincius | SO | LHP | Mississippi State | SEC |
| Dylan Volantis | SO | LHP | Texas | SEC |
| Dax Whitney | SO | RHP | Oregon State | Pac-12 |
| Derek Williams | SR | OF | Miami | ACC |
This list was announced by USA Baseball on April 2.
Notes
Many notable names headline this list.
Roch Cholowsky has been one of the NCAA’s best hitters this season, while Dax Whitney (78) is currently the DI leader in strikeouts.
Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey hit 11 home runs over the first chunk of the season and has maintained elite status heading into the meat of the spring. Caden Sorrell and Justin Lebron, two of the best bats in the SEC, are also here.
Additionally, several players who didn’t make the preseason list fought their way to the midseason one.
Perhaps the most notable of the bunch is Landon Hairston. Hairston entered the day on April 2 tied with UNLV’s Drew Barragan for most hits (53) in Division I. The sophomore has been a world-beater for the Sun Devils with 17 home runs and 29 extra-base hits over 29 contests.
Quinton Coats is the current Division I home run leader (20) for Cincinnati. The sophomore had a loud freshman season in 2025, as he picked up six home runs and batted over .300 in 34 games last season.
Tague Davis, second on the home run list (17), is also a newcomer. As is Will Gasparino, who’s been a power-hitting force for UCLA in his first year with the school. Gasparino transferred home to California after two years with the Texas Longhorns.
As for the new pitchers, junior Mason Edwards has turned into a valuable asset for USC into one of the best in all of college baseball. Edwards, as of April 2, was four strikeouts shy of Whitney for the DI lead.
Wake Forest pitcher Chris Levonas, third in DI with 66 strikeouts, was also freshly added to the watch list. Levonas, a former second-round pick by Milwaukee in 2025, didn’t sign with the Brewers, a gift for the Demon Deacons.
One non-college player, Grady Emerson, made the list. Emerson is expected to be on the shortlist of players who could go first overall to the White Sox in July.
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