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Two-way Florida star Jac Caglianone set program history on Wednesday by blasting the 75th home run of his Gator career. While he’s cemented himself in the university’s record books, he won’t have the opportunity to be called college baseball’s best player.
Caglianone was left off the Golden Spikes Award finalist list, a glaring omission for many around the sport. Questions surrounding his absence have continued to be raised, and the cries for his inclusion are now louder than ever!
The lefty has been arguably the most important player to his team this season, providing a threat both in the batter’s box and on the mound.
As a pitcher, he’s 5-2 with an ERA of 4.76 on the bump. At the dish, he’s even more deadly.
Caglianone leads the Gators with 34 home runs this season, the last of which he belted in a College World Series matchup against Kentucky.
The lefty is hitting .413 at the plate and has a ridiculous 31 intentional walks across 65 games.
That incredible production is largely unmatched across college baseball. Still, it wasn’t good enough to land a spot as a Player of the Year finalist.
Jac Caglianone isn’t a Golden Spikes candidate.
Instead, USA Baseball dropped a Top 3 of Charlie Condon, Hagen Smith, and Travis Bazzana.
Bazzana is a star in his own right, batting .407 with 28 bombs and 16 stolen bases for Oregon State. Smith, meanwhile, is the lone pitcher on the list, recording an Arkansas record 360 strikeouts over three seasons while going 9-2 this year.
Charlie Condon has the strongest case to win the Golden Spikes Award as the Georgia Bulldog leads the nation in home runs and average.
Still, Caglianone’s omission was a glaring one in the eyes of many – especially given his status as a two-way player in the sport’s top conference.
“Any list of the Top 3 College Baseball players in the country that doesn’t include Jac Caglianone can’t be a serious list.”
While Caglianone doesn’t have the ability to win the Golden Spikes Award, he’s already earned something the others can’t – a trip to Omaha.
While the Florida slugger continues to battle for a national title, the others watch from home. After taking down Kentucky on Wednesday, the Gators find themselves two wins away from the College World Series final.