ATHENS, Ga. — After falling short last season, Charlie Condon made it on the Golden Spikes Award finalist list.
The All-American third baseman and outfielder was announced by USA Baseball as a finalist after being named a semi-finalist during his National Freshman of the Year 2023 season.
“It’s a huge honor to be a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award,” Condon said. “It might be an individual award, but there’s a lot of people that have supported me and allowed me to be the best version of myself. Without the guys behind me, and the guys in the locker room and what we have going on here, I’m nothing special. I owe a lot of credit to them, and they are going to continue to be the heartbeat of this team, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Condon lost out last season to the inevitable No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and former LSU outfielder Dylan Crews. However, this season, the currently projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft has placed himself in a prime position to win the award.
His .445 batting average, 98 hits and 36 home runs lead are at the top of college baseball. Condon’s 77 RBI’s also places him 11th in all of college baseball. Condon’s home runs also set both a UGA and an NCAA record.
He also had seven multi-home run games this season and homered in eight consecutive games — April 26 through May 9 — which was one shy of the NCAA record.
The 6-foot-6, former walk-on has had tremendous success, despite seeing fewer at-bat appearances than his competitors. Condon, as was showcased in the final innings against Georgia Tech in the Athens regional, was intentionally walked when he came up to the plate — something he experienced all season.
Condon’s competitors are other players vying for the top spots in the upcoming MLB draft. Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana and Arkansas Hagen Smith both contend for the award.
Smith, unlike Condon and Bazzana, is a pitcher, but is regarded as one of the best in the league. However, Smith’s season, unlike Condon’s and Bazzana’s, wrapped up over the weekend.
He led his team with a 2.04 earned run average, which is currently fourth-best in college baseball. The 6-foot-3, Bullard, Texas native had a strong 9-2 record, started every series for the Razorbacks this season and had 161 strikeouts, which was second-best in college baseball.
Bazzana, like Condon, has been tremendous at the plate. He’s tied for sixth place in all of college baseball in home runs at 28 and has the fifth-best batting average in college baseball at .415
The Melbourne, Australia native does have one key stat where he’s above Condon: his on-base percentage. His .575 is just above Condon’s .566, but just below Georgia first baseman Corey Collins, who currently leads college baseball with a .583 on-base percentage.
Condon has already won SEC Player of the Year and was named to the Athens Regional All Tournament team. However, the Golden Spikes Award would be, by far, his most prestigious honor if he came away with the trophy.
He’s the fifth Golden Spikes winner in Georgia history and would be the first winner in the entire programs history.
However, Condon and the rest of the Bulldogs look ahead to their Super Regional matchup against NC State on Saturday, June 8.