CARY, N.C. – For just the fourth time in program history, a Tennessee player has been named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. Junior pitcher Liam Doyle was selected as one of three finalists for this year’s award, USA Baseball announced on Wednesday.
Doyle is joined by a pair of the nation’s top shortstops in Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy and Florida State’s Alex Lodise to make up the finalists for the 47th edition the Golden Spikes Award, which is widely considered the most prestigious honor in college baseball and is presented annually to the country’s top amateur player.
The Derry, New Hampshire, native, will look to become the first Volunteer to ever win the award and joins a select group of previous finalists from UT that consists of program legends Todd Helton (1995), Chris Burke (2001) and Luke Hochevar (2005).
In his most recent outing in game seven of the Knoxville Regional against Wake Forest on Monday night, Doyle broke Hochevar’s single-season strikeout record of 154 by punching out five of the seven batters he faced to bring his season total to 158, which leads the nation entering this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional at Arkansas.
Doyle was also named the Knoxville Regional’s Most Outstanding Player after going 1-0 and recording a save in his two appearances. The dominant lefthander pitched nine innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits while striking out 16 batters over the weekend.
For the season, Doyle boasts a 10-3 record with a 2.84 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 18 appearances (16 starts). He also leads the NCAA with 15.46 strikeouts per nine innings and ranks in the top 12 nationally in victories (ninth), WHIP (12th) and hits allowed per nine innings (seventh).
This year marks the fifth time since 2018 that the Southeastern Conference has featured multiple Golden Spikes Award finalists. Overall, the SEC boasts 11 Golden Spikes Award winners, the most of any conference in the nation.
The 2025 Golden Spikes Award timeline is as follows:
• June 4: Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, and fan voting begins
• June 20: Golden Spikes Award finalists fan voting ends
• June 21: Golden Spikes Award winner announced
A final ballot will be sent to the Golden Spikes Award voting body consisting of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, totaling a group of more than 100 voters. From Wednesday, June 4, to Thursday, June 12, the voting body will cast their final vote for the Golden Spikes Award winner and fan voting will simultaneously be open on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The 47th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 21 on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT prior to first pitch of Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series finals.
