NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt boasted a nation-leading three student-athletes on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list, announced by USA baseball on Wednesday.
The trio of Dominic Keegan, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker each received the honor – the Commodores were one of four schools to place multiple honorees on the midseason list.
Keegan has led the Vanderbilt offense throughout the first half of the season, ranking first on the team in batting average (.391), RBIs (30) and slugging percentage (.739). He ranks third in the SEC batting average while leading the conference in slugging.
The duo of Rocker and Leiter have anchored the front end of Vanderbilt’s rotation. The two are tied for the nation lead in wins with seven apiece while Leiter ranks sixth in the country in ERA with a mark of 0.55 (3 ER/49 IP).
Leiter and Rocker rank first and third, respectively, in the nation in strikeouts as Leiter leads with a total of 84 and Rocker owns 73 on the campaign.
The midseason watch list features 45 of the nation’s top amateur players from the high school and college ranks and includes 34 athletes who have played their way onto the watch list since the preseason list was announced Feb. 18.
The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists June 8.
