The University of Mississippi Athletics
Doug Nikhazy Named Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist
6/8/2021 | Baseball
Rebel Left-Hander in Running for College Baseball's Top Individual Honor
CARY, N.C. – Doug Nikhazy has put together one of the best individual seasons in Ole Miss baseball history, and USA Baseball announced Tuesday the Rebel left-hander as a semifinalist for the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur college baseball player.
Nikhazy is one of 25 semifinalists who will vie to be one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award. Ole Miss has had two Golden Spikes finalists in its history—Drew Pomeranz in 2010 and Stephen Head in 2004.
The junior out of Windermere, Florida, is the sixth Rebel semifinalist since 2007, joining Chris Ellis (2014), Bobby Wahl (2013), Alex Yarbrough (2012), Pomeranz (2010) and Zack Cozart (2007).
Last week, Nikhazy became the fourth two-time All-American in Ole Miss baseball history, earning a First Team nod from Collegiate Baseball. The junior out of Windermere, Florida, joined Jake Gibbs (1960-61), Paul Husband (1972-73) and Stephen Head (2003-05) as the only Rebel baseball players to earn All-American honors over multiple seasons. Nikhazy was previously named a Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2020.
For the season, Nikhazy leads Ole Miss with an 11-2 record and 2.39 ERA over 86.2 innings pitched with 28 walks, 132 strikeouts and a .180 opponent batting average. He is the fourth player in Rebel baseball history to join the 10-win, 100-strikeout club and the first since Ryan Rolison in 2018.
On Saturday in the NCAA Oxford Regional against Florida State, Nikhazy tied Ole Miss' single-game strikeout record with 16, matching a mark most recently met by Pomeranz in 2009. With that performance, and two more strikeouts in Sunday's finela, Nikhazy also moved to fourth on the program's single-season strikeout list, surpassing Pomeranz (2009) and Scott Bittle (2008) with 132 on the year.
In conference play, Nikhazy posted a 1.67 ERA and a 7-1 record over 59.1 innings pitched with 85 strikeouts and 19 walks to earn First Team All-SEC honors. He is the first Rebel since Chris Ellis in 2017 to win seven SEC games in a single season. He closed his regular season with a career-high 13 strikeouts at Georgia.
Aside from his 16 K regional performance, the highlight of Nikhazy's 2021 campaign came at Mississippi State, where he threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout in front of the largest on-campus crowd in college baseball this season.
In 2019, Nikhazy set an Ole Miss freshman record with 86 strikeouts as he earned Freshman All-SEC and All-American honors, in addition to a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 24, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2021. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline on Tuesday, June 15, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named in July. To stay up-to-date on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award Timeline
- June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting begins
- June 15: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
- June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, voting begins
- July 2: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
- July: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists
Andrew Abbott; LHP; Virginia; Atlantic Coast
Tanner Allen; OF; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Jacob Berry; INF; Arizona; Pac-12
Colton Cowser; OF; Sam Houston; Southland
Henry Davis; C; Louisville; Atlantic Coast
Sal Frelick; UTL; Boston College; Atlantic Coast
Tyler Hardman; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12
Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12
Niko Kavadas; INF; Notre Dame; Atlantic Coast
Austin Knight; INF; Charlotte; C-USA
Kevin Kopps; RHP; Arkansas; Southeastern
Jack Leiter; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Ethan Long; INF; Arizona State; Pac-12
Ty Madden; RHP; Texas; Big 12
Matt Mikulski; LHP; Fordham; Atlantic 10
Matheu Nelson; C; Florida State; Atlantic Coast
Doug Nikhazy; RHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern
Connor Norby; INF; ECU; American
Kumar Rocker; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Spencer Schwellenbach; INF/RHP; Nebraska; Big Ten
Landon Sims; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Paul Skenes; C/RHP; Air Force; Mountain West
Trey Sweeney; 3B; Eastern Illinois; Ohio Valley
Gavin Williams; RHP; ECU; American
Aaron Zavala; OF; Oregon; Pac-12
Nikhazy is one of 25 semifinalists who will vie to be one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award. Ole Miss has had two Golden Spikes finalists in its history—Drew Pomeranz in 2010 and Stephen Head in 2004.
The junior out of Windermere, Florida, is the sixth Rebel semifinalist since 2007, joining Chris Ellis (2014), Bobby Wahl (2013), Alex Yarbrough (2012), Pomeranz (2010) and Zack Cozart (2007).
Last week, Nikhazy became the fourth two-time All-American in Ole Miss baseball history, earning a First Team nod from Collegiate Baseball. The junior out of Windermere, Florida, joined Jake Gibbs (1960-61), Paul Husband (1972-73) and Stephen Head (2003-05) as the only Rebel baseball players to earn All-American honors over multiple seasons. Nikhazy was previously named a Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2020.
For the season, Nikhazy leads Ole Miss with an 11-2 record and 2.39 ERA over 86.2 innings pitched with 28 walks, 132 strikeouts and a .180 opponent batting average. He is the fourth player in Rebel baseball history to join the 10-win, 100-strikeout club and the first since Ryan Rolison in 2018.
On Saturday in the NCAA Oxford Regional against Florida State, Nikhazy tied Ole Miss' single-game strikeout record with 16, matching a mark most recently met by Pomeranz in 2009. With that performance, and two more strikeouts in Sunday's finela, Nikhazy also moved to fourth on the program's single-season strikeout list, surpassing Pomeranz (2009) and Scott Bittle (2008) with 132 on the year.
In conference play, Nikhazy posted a 1.67 ERA and a 7-1 record over 59.1 innings pitched with 85 strikeouts and 19 walks to earn First Team All-SEC honors. He is the first Rebel since Chris Ellis in 2017 to win seven SEC games in a single season. He closed his regular season with a career-high 13 strikeouts at Georgia.
Aside from his 16 K regional performance, the highlight of Nikhazy's 2021 campaign came at Mississippi State, where he threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout in front of the largest on-campus crowd in college baseball this season.
In 2019, Nikhazy set an Ole Miss freshman record with 86 strikeouts as he earned Freshman All-SEC and All-American honors, in addition to a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 24, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2021. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline on Tuesday, June 15, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The winner of the 43rd Golden Spikes Award will be named in July. To stay up-to-date on the 2021 Golden Spikes Award visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2021 Golden Spikes Award Timeline
- June 8: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting begins
- June 15: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award semifinalists voting ends
- June 24: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists announced, voting begins
- July 2: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalists voting ends
- July: USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award trophy presentation
Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists
Andrew Abbott; LHP; Virginia; Atlantic Coast
Tanner Allen; OF; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Jacob Berry; INF; Arizona; Pac-12
Colton Cowser; OF; Sam Houston; Southland
Henry Davis; C; Louisville; Atlantic Coast
Sal Frelick; UTL; Boston College; Atlantic Coast
Tyler Hardman; INF; Oklahoma; Big 12
Jace Jung; INF; Texas Tech; Big 12
Niko Kavadas; INF; Notre Dame; Atlantic Coast
Austin Knight; INF; Charlotte; C-USA
Kevin Kopps; RHP; Arkansas; Southeastern
Jack Leiter; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Ethan Long; INF; Arizona State; Pac-12
Ty Madden; RHP; Texas; Big 12
Matt Mikulski; LHP; Fordham; Atlantic 10
Matheu Nelson; C; Florida State; Atlantic Coast
Doug Nikhazy; RHP; Ole Miss; Southeastern
Connor Norby; INF; ECU; American
Kumar Rocker; RHP; Vanderbilt; Southeastern
Spencer Schwellenbach; INF/RHP; Nebraska; Big Ten
Landon Sims; RHP; Mississippi State; Southeastern
Paul Skenes; C/RHP; Air Force; Mountain West
Trey Sweeney; 3B; Eastern Illinois; Ohio Valley
Gavin Williams; RHP; ECU; American
Aaron Zavala; OF; Oregon; Pac-12
Players Mentioned
LHP/OF
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