June 2, 2015
Nashville, Tenn. – USA Baseball has named junior Carson Fulmer and Dansby Swanson finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.
The Vanderbilt duo make up half of the four finalists with fellow Southeastern Conference players Andrew Benintendi of Arkansas and Alex Bregman of LSU making up the other half for an all SEC finalists pool. Fulmer and Swanson become the fourth set of teammates to be finalists in the same year for the award and first since former Commodores David Price and Pedro Alvarez were up for the award in 2007 when Price became the only Commodore ever to win the award. Fulmer and Swanson become the third set of teammates coached by Tim Corbin to be finalists in the same year, joining Clemson’s Khalil Greene and Jeff Baker in 2002 when Corbin was an assistant on the staff. Georgia Tech holds the record with three players as finalists in 1994 when winner Jason Varitek was joined by teammates Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton.
Fulmer has posted one of the best seasons in Vanderbilt history becoming the third Vandy pitcher to win SEC Pitcher of the Year honors. The Lakeland, Fla. native won the SEC pitching triple crown during the regular season leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. His 147 strikeouts are the third-most in a single season by a VU pitcher, trailing only Price’s final two seasons in Black and Gold (2006-07). Fulmer has tossed three complete games this season, including a pair of shutouts, with 11-plus strikeouts in seven of his 16 starts. Collegiate Baseball named him a first team All-American last week after he earned first team All-SEC honors the week before. Fulmer won his 12th game of the season on Friday against Lipscomb to open the NCAA Tournament pushing him into a tie for third on the Vanderbilt single-season wins list and eighth on the all-time wins list alongside former Dores Price and Mike Minor.
Swanson has been a steady force in the Vandy lineup for two straight seasons, transitioning from second base to shortstop this season where he was named second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and second team All-SEC by the league’s coaches. The Marietta, Ga. native enters the Super Regional at Illinois this weekend hitting a team-best .348 and leading the Commodores is hits (86), doubles (22), triples (6), home runs (14) and runs scored (71). His 71 runs scored are the third-most in a single-season by a Commodore and trail Pedro Alvarez’s school record by five. His 14 homers are the most by a Vandy shortstop since Ryan Flaherty hit 14 in 2008. Swanson was named the MVP of the Nashville Regional over the weekend after taking over the Regional, including a game-winning, two-run homer in Saturday night’s game against Indiana.
The winner of the Golden Spikes Award will be announced June 23 on ESPN’s SportsCenter for the second consecutive year.
