Junior catcher Chris Okey (Mount Dora, Fla.) was one of 50 players named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, announced Tuesday by USA Baseball. The award is presented to the nation’s best player on June 30 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Okey is coming off a first-team All-America season in 2015, becoming Clemson’s first All-America catcher since 1997 (Matthew LeCroy). He led the 2015 squad in homers, total bases and slugging percentage. After the season, he played for the USA Collegiate National Team for the second summer in a row.
Okey and the Tigers begin the 2016 season on Friday against Maine at Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 4 p.