Whisenhunt Named To Golden Spikes Watch List
February 15, 2022 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina sophomore Carson Whisenhunt is one of 55 players named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list for the 2022 season USA Baseball announced Tuesday. The list is the beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player (high school or college) in the country.
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Whisenhunt is the fifth player named to the initial list following Kyle Roller (2010), Jeff Hoffman (2014), Bryant Packard (2019) and Alec Burleson (2020). The Pirates have had five players selected on the midseason list in Jeff Hoffman (2013), Evan Kruczynski (2016), Chris Holba (2018), Jake Agnos (2019) and Connor Norby (2021), while Corey Kemp (2008), Norby (2021) and Gavin Williams (2021) were named semifinalists.
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The left-hander from Mocksville, N.C. posted a 6-2 record in 13 starts during his first year as a member of the weekend rotation. In his first collegiate start he allowed just two runs (both earned) on three hits in four innings where he struck out 10 batters against Rhode Island. The lefty picked up his first collegiate win at Georgia Southern tossing 6.2 scoreless frames with a career-best 11 punch outs and became the first freshman hurler since Brooks Jernigan (1998) to record double-digit strikeouts in consecutive games.
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Whisenhunt, who pitched for the Collegiate National Team last summer and was named Preseason American Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, allowed 28 runs (26 earned) on 50 hits posting a 3.77 ERA. He fanned 79 batters while walking 22 in 62.0 innings. Including the Georgia Southern contest, Whisenhunt also earned victories over Appalachian State, Charlotte, Illinois State, Tulane and UCF.
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On the season, he worked five-plus innings six times with a career-best seven shutout frames versus the 49ers and fanned six or more in an outing on seven occasions. Whisenhunt was named Collegiate Baseball National Player-of-the-Week (Feb. 22), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Pitcher-of-the-Month (March 3) and American Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Week (March 15).
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Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spike Award in 2022. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting May 24 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 8 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through June 12.
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The 2022 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
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Whisenhunt is the fifth player named to the initial list following Kyle Roller (2010), Jeff Hoffman (2014), Bryant Packard (2019) and Alec Burleson (2020). The Pirates have had five players selected on the midseason list in Jeff Hoffman (2013), Evan Kruczynski (2016), Chris Holba (2018), Jake Agnos (2019) and Connor Norby (2021), while Corey Kemp (2008), Norby (2021) and Gavin Williams (2021) were named semifinalists.
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The left-hander from Mocksville, N.C. posted a 6-2 record in 13 starts during his first year as a member of the weekend rotation. In his first collegiate start he allowed just two runs (both earned) on three hits in four innings where he struck out 10 batters against Rhode Island. The lefty picked up his first collegiate win at Georgia Southern tossing 6.2 scoreless frames with a career-best 11 punch outs and became the first freshman hurler since Brooks Jernigan (1998) to record double-digit strikeouts in consecutive games.
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Whisenhunt, who pitched for the Collegiate National Team last summer and was named Preseason American Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, allowed 28 runs (26 earned) on 50 hits posting a 3.77 ERA. He fanned 79 batters while walking 22 in 62.0 innings. Including the Georgia Southern contest, Whisenhunt also earned victories over Appalachian State, Charlotte, Illinois State, Tulane and UCF.
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On the season, he worked five-plus innings six times with a career-best seven shutout frames versus the 49ers and fanned six or more in an outing on seven occasions. Whisenhunt was named Collegiate Baseball National Player-of-the-Week (Feb. 22), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Pitcher-of-the-Month (March 3) and American Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Week (March 15).
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Fan voting will once again play a part in the Golden Spike Award in 2022. Amateur baseball fans will be able to vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, starting May 24 with the naming of the Golden Spikes Award semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 8 and fan voting will open at GoldenSpikesAward.com concurrently, remaining open through June 12.
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The 2022 Golden Spikes Award timeline:
- April 5: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list announced
- May 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists announced, voting begins
- May 29: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
- June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, voting begins
- June 12: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
ECU is set to open the 2022 season on Friday, Feb. 18 hosting Bryant in three-game series. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. (ET) at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Players Mentioned
LHP
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LHP/1B
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RHP
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INF
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1B/OF
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LHP
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RHP
/ BaseballFriday, May 29
Thursday, May 28
Sunday, May 24
Sunday, May 24
