Kansas State University Athletics
Martin Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
Apr 03, 2025 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Maximus Martin added to his 2025 honors, as the shortstop was named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List – an award that honors the nation's top amateur player.
The list features 45 of the nation's top athletes from college and high school baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award's watch list on a rolling basis, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance. Martin is one of 26 athletes to have played their way on to the list since the announcement of the Preseason Watch List.
Martin becomes the fourth Wildcat in school history to make the Midseason Watch List, joining Jared King (2013), Ross Kivett (2014), and Brady Day (2024). In addition to Martin, two other players represented the Big 12 on the watch list with Oklahoma State's Nolan Schubart and Arizona's Brendan Summerhill.
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2025. Following the semifinalist announcement on May 18, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com to help determine the finalists and winner. The 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced in late June in conjunction with the end of the amateur baseball season.
Martin played his way on to the watch list and is recognized as one of the nation's top hitters. This season, he has earned national recognition as the Golden Spikes Award National Player of the Week and National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Shortstop of the Week. Martin has also earned Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week honors.
A native of Edgewater Park, N.J., Martin leads the Wildcat offense in eight offensive categories: batting average (.411), slugging percentage (.884), on-base percentage (.491), runs scored (34), hits (39), RBI (39), home runs (12) and total bases (84).
His .884 slugging percentage leads the Big 12 and is the sixth highest in the country, while he ranks 14th in Division I in home runs and 15th in RBI per game (1.50).
On the year, Martin has turned in a team-leading 11 multi-hit efforts along with 12 games with multiple runs driven in, while also becoming the first player since 2018 to produce eight RBI in a single game.
K-State (20-8, 8-1 Big 12) will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a three-game conference series at Oklahoma State (12-14, 1-6 Big 12), starting Friday at 6 p.m. at O'Brate Stadium.
About Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. The award goes to the amateur baseball player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner was Charlie Condon from the University of Georgia. Winners of this prestigious award from the past 20 years include Major League Baseball All-Stars such as Adley Rutschman ('19), Andrew Benintendi ('15), Kris Bryant ('13), Mike Zunino ('12), Trevor Bauer ('11), Bryce Harper ('10), Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price ('07), Tim Lincecum ('06), Alex Gordon ('05), and Jered Weaver ('04). Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Instagram and Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
The list features 45 of the nation's top athletes from college and high school baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award's watch list on a rolling basis, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance. Martin is one of 26 athletes to have played their way on to the list since the announcement of the Preseason Watch List.
Martin becomes the fourth Wildcat in school history to make the Midseason Watch List, joining Jared King (2013), Ross Kivett (2014), and Brady Day (2024). In addition to Martin, two other players represented the Big 12 on the watch list with Oklahoma State's Nolan Schubart and Arizona's Brendan Summerhill.
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2025. Following the semifinalist announcement on May 18, baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com to help determine the finalists and winner. The 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced in late June in conjunction with the end of the amateur baseball season.
Martin played his way on to the watch list and is recognized as one of the nation's top hitters. This season, he has earned national recognition as the Golden Spikes Award National Player of the Week and National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Shortstop of the Week. Martin has also earned Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week honors.
A native of Edgewater Park, N.J., Martin leads the Wildcat offense in eight offensive categories: batting average (.411), slugging percentage (.884), on-base percentage (.491), runs scored (34), hits (39), RBI (39), home runs (12) and total bases (84).
His .884 slugging percentage leads the Big 12 and is the sixth highest in the country, while he ranks 14th in Division I in home runs and 15th in RBI per game (1.50).
On the year, Martin has turned in a team-leading 11 multi-hit efforts along with 12 games with multiple runs driven in, while also becoming the first player since 2018 to produce eight RBI in a single game.
K-State (20-8, 8-1 Big 12) will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a three-game conference series at Oklahoma State (12-14, 1-6 Big 12), starting Friday at 6 p.m. at O'Brate Stadium.
About Golden Spikes Award
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the country with the Golden Spikes Award. The award goes to the amateur baseball player who exhibits exceptional athletic ability and exemplary sportsmanship. The 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner was Charlie Condon from the University of Georgia. Winners of this prestigious award from the past 20 years include Major League Baseball All-Stars such as Adley Rutschman ('19), Andrew Benintendi ('15), Kris Bryant ('13), Mike Zunino ('12), Trevor Bauer ('11), Bryce Harper ('10), Stephen Strasburg ('09), Buster Posey ('08), David Price ('07), Tim Lincecum ('06), Alex Gordon ('05), and Jered Weaver ('04). Fans can follow the Golden Spikes Award on Instagram and Twitter @USAGoldenSpikes.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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