STANFORD, Calif. – Juniors Jack Little and Kyle Stowers were named to the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list, as announced Thursday by USA Baseball.
Fifty five players form high school or college baseball made the list – a midseason list will be announced April 10, followed by semifinalists on May 15 and finalists on May 29. The Golden Spikes Award, which is annually awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the country, will be presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation on June 14.
.@KyleStowers and @jack_little11 have been named to the @USAGoldenSpikes Preseason Watch List! ?????? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/muHCXvfYDt
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 7, 2019
Little (management science and engineering) tied a program record with 16 saves as a sophomore in 2018, finishing 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA, a .167 batting average against and 58 strikeouts against eight walks in 45.1 innings out of the bullpen. The Las Vegas native earned first-team All-America honors from D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, NCBWA and ABCA, and was a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award. Little has also garnered preseason All-America nods from D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Stowers (communication), who hails from El Cajon, California, finished second on the team in 2018 in home runs (10), slugging percentage (.510) and RBI (42) while batting .286 and starting all 58 games. He was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention while helping Stanford win its first conference championship since 2004. Stowers was named a preseason first-team All-American by Baseball America.
Stanford's 2019 season begins Feb. 15 when the Cardinal competes in the Angels College Classic in Phoenix with matchups against Ball State (Feb. 15), Wichita State (Feb. 16), Pepperdine (Feb. 17) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 18). Stanford's home opener is against UNLV (Feb. 22-24) with season tickets on sale at GoStanford.com.