The pursuit of college baseball’s most prestigious individual award will not include one Oregon State Beavers player.
It will include two.
Outfielder Gavin Turley and shortstop Aiva Arquette have been named to the preseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States.
The 55-player list, which was unveiled Friday, features four players who were semifinalists for the award last last season and six more who landed on the preseason watch list.
Former OSU second baseman Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall selection of the 2024 MLB draft, was a finalist a year ago.
But this year, Oregon State — one of 11 teams with multiple selections on the watch list — will have two players chasing the coveted prize.
Turley, a 6-foot-1 junior, has been a force in the Oregon State lineup since arriving as the highest-rated high school recruit in program history. During his first two college seasons, Turley has hit .289, slugged .618 and produced 33 home runs, 22 doubles and 120 RBIs.
Turley belted 19 homers and drove in 74 runs last season, the third- and fifth-most, respectively, in school history. And he’s on pace to shatter Oregon State’s career records for home runs (45) and RBIs (179).
Arquette, meanwhile, will play his first game at Oregon State next week after transferring from Washington last summer. A 6-5 shortstop who is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2025 MLB draft, Arquette hit .325 with 12 homers, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs last season, earning spots on the Pac-12 all-conference team and all-defensive team.
Oregon State coaches are so high on the player from Kailua, Hawaii, they say it’s possible he could emerge as the Beavers’ second consecutive No. 1 pick in the MLB draft. Fittingly, Arquette has been named a preseason All-American by Baseball America, Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Arquette and Turley will try to become the second player in school history to win the Golden Spikes Award, joining Adley Rutschman (2019), who went on to be the No. 1 pick in the draft and reach the major leagues.
Since Rutschman’s win, two Beavers — left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe and Bazzana — have been finalists for the award.
The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the watch list on a rolling basis during the season, creating an avenue for athletes to play themselves into award consideration. The board will release a midseason watch list on April 3 and name the semifinalists on May 18, before unveiling finalists and, ultimately, a winner in June.
Fans can play a part in the award by voting online at GoldenSpikesAward.com.
The Beavers open the season against Xavier on Friday, Feb. 14, in Surprise, Arizona.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
