Virginia Lands Three on Golden Spikes Award Watch List

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Virginia Baseball program features multiple student-athletes on the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list after Evan Blanco, Harrison Didawick and Henry Ford were announced as three of the 55 on the initial list. The award, presented by USA Baseball, is annually bestowed on the nation’s top amateur baseball player.

Since 2008, a total of 25 Cavaliers have been featured on the GSA preseason watch list. Virginia has also been represented on the GSA preseason watch list 14 of the last 18 years.

In the 2025 edition of the GSA preseason watch list, UVA is tied with Arizona State and Texas A&M for the most representatives with three.

The three Cavaliers on the GSA preseason watch list are the most for Virginia since 2008.

Blanco paced the Cavalier pitching staff in 2024, posting an 8-3 record with a 3.62 ERA. The left-handed pitcher totaled 99 strikeouts in 99.1 innings pitched in 18 starts. He ranked top-10 in the ACC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67 – 6th), strikeouts (4th) and wins (4th) along with nabbing a third team All-ACC selection.

Didawick was one of three Cavaliers to start all 63 games in 2024. The outfielder tied the Virginia single-season home run record with 23 and the school mark for runs scored in a season with 78. His 68 RBI in 2024 were the seventh most in a season by a UVA hitter.

During his 2024 campaign, Ford broke the UVA freshman records for home runs (17), RBI (69) and total bases (151). His team-high 69 RBI were tied for the fifth-most ever by a Cavalier in a single-season and were second amongst all NCAA D-I freshmen in 2024. He became only the third UVA freshman since 1984 to lead the team outright in RBI (Bill Narleski in 1984 and Chris Newell in 2020).

Ford batted .336 (85-for-253) to go along with 13 doubles, a triple and 60 runs scored while earning an invitation to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp during the summer.