College baseball season is a-knocking, and two in-staters have already received national accolades. Alabama’s sophomore shortstop, Justin Lebron, and Auburn’s junior catcher, Ike Irish, have been named to the 2025 Golden Spikes Watch List.
This list, announced by USA Baseball on Friday, begins the process of identifying the best amateur baseball player in the country for the 2025 season and includes 55 players from high school and college baseball.
Lebron, a Miramar, Fla., native, started all 57 games as a freshman for the Crimson Tide and batted .338 (73-216) with nine doubles and 12 home runs. He added 37 RBI, 50 runs scored, 20 walks, 16 hit-by pitch and seven steals.
In the process, the shortstop garnered First Team All-SEC accolades and was named Freshman All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team.
On a national level, Lebron was named Freshman All-America by D1Baseball.com, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and Perfect Game USA.
Irish, Auburn’s junior backstop, has already been named Preseason First Team All-SEC and given a Preseason All-America nod by Baseball America, D1 Baseball, and Perfect Game.
A 2024 First Team All-SEC performer, Irish posted a .319 average with 14 home runs and 59 RBI. He also led the team with 47 runs and threw out nine from behind the plate.
Across 105 career games, the Hudsonville, Michigan, native is batting .343 with 145 hits, including 35 doubles, three triples, and 20 home runs. He has driven in a total of 109 runs.
Irish earned Freshman All-America and SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2023 and was named ABCA First Team All-Region and a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Buster Posey Award in 2024.
Following the midseason watch list announcement on April 3, fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com with the naming of the semifinalists and finalists. The award winner will be announced in late June.
For a full list, please visit https://www.usabaseball.com/news/usa-baseball-announces-2025-golden-spikes-award-preseason-watch-list TG
