CARY, N.C. – Tennessee was one of five schools with two players named 2024 Golden Spikes Award semifinalists, USA Baseball announced on Monday afternoon.
Juniors Christian Moore and Blake Burke were both among the 25 semifinalists for college baseball’s most prestigious award, which is presented annually to the top amateur baseball in the country.
Moore and Burke, who rank first and second in UT program history in career home runs with 54 and 46, respectively, are the fifth and sixth Vols to ever earn semifinalist status for the Golden Spikes Award, joining Kentrall Davis (2008), Nick Senzel (2016), Chase Burns (2022) and Trey Lipscomb (2022).
Moore, who was also named a first-team All-SEC selection on Monday, won the SEC triple crown in league play, leading all players with a .429 batting average, 20 home runs and 41 RBIs in conference games. The junior second baseman ranks in the top-15 nationally in hits (11th – 87), home runs (6th – 27), slugging percentage (14th – .808) and total bases (6th – 181).
On top of becoming Tennessee’s career leader in home runs, Moore also set the program’s single-season record for homers, having sent 27 balls over the wall this season, besting the previous mark of 24 set by Sonny Cortez back in 1998. Entering postseason play, the New York native leads the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.388), OPS (1.262), runs (64), hits, home runs, RBIs (60), total bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage (.454).
Burke, who also garnered All-SEC acclaim on Monday, had a monster junior season that saw him become the program’s career leader in home runs before being passed by his teammate, Moore. The junior first baseman leads the SEC and ranks 10th nationally with a career-high 23 doubles and has also set or tied career bests in batting average (.359), runs (56), hits (78), homers (16), RBIs (50) and stolen bases (eight). His 44 hits in SEC play ranked fourth in the league.
Burke also broke UT’s program record for the longest hitting streak, besting Condredge Holloway’s 1975 record of 27 straight games with a hit with a 31-game hit streak from March 1 through April 25 this season.
Of the nine conferences that were represented, the SEC led the way with nine players on the 25-man semifinalist list, followed by the ACC with seven.
Fan voting will again play a part in the Golden Spikes Award in 2024. Baseball fans can vote for their favorite players on GoldenSpikesAward.com, beginning today with the naming of the semifinalists. USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award on June 5, and fan voting will once again open at GoldenSpikesAward.com before closing on June 21.
The 46th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 22 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN ahead of Game 1 of the College World Series finals.
To view the full semifinalist list stay up to date on the 2024 Golden Spikes Award, visit GoldenSpikesAward.com and follow @USAGoldenSpikes on Instagram and Twitter/X.
