NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A pair of Vanderbilt baseball student-athletes are in consideration for national player-of-the-year honors with the release Friday of the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Carter Holton—both consensus preseason All-America selections who were named preseason All-SEC Thursday—are among the 55 individuals who were named to the watch list presented annually to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.
A consensus All-American last spring, Bradfield batted .317 with five triples, eight home runs and 36 RBIs. He was also voted first team All-SEC after going 46-for-46 on stolen bases a year ago, ranking second in the country in the category.
After going 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA, two complete games and 97 strikeouts, Holton was an unanimous Freshman All-America selection in addition to making the league’s All-Freshman Team. The left-hander finished his first season at the collegiate level among the top 10 in the SEC in ERA as well as second on the team in strikeouts.
The Commodores will open the 2023 season against TCU at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 17. They will then face Oklahoma State and Texas the next two days of the event, with all three contests scheduled to be streamed on FloSports.
