Kopps named a semifinalist for Golden Spikes Award

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Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps is one of 25 semifinalists for the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced Tuesday.

Already named the National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, the right-hander has put together one of the most dominant seasons by a relief pitcher in recent memory.

Including his 13 1/3 scoreless innings in the Fayetteville Regional over the weekend, Kopps is 12-0 with 11 saves and an NCAA-leading 0.68 ERA. He also has 120 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 79 2/3 innings while holding opponents to a .156 batting average.

In addition to having the top ERA among qualified Division I pitchers, Kopps also leads the country in WHIP (0.73) and is fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (4.9), tied for sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.0), 13th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.6).

Those numbers helped him become just the second reliever to be named SEC Pitcher of the Year since the award was created in 2003 and the first ever reliever to be named Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Year in the award’s 38-year history.

Kopps was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy last month, as well. Neither of the sport’s premier national player of the year awards have ever been given to a relief pitcher.

He is one of six semifinalists from the SEC, which is the most of any conference. The others are Mississippi State’s Tanner Allen and Landon Sims, Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, and Ole Miss’ Doug Nikhazy.

Fans can vote for the Golden Spikes Award by clicking here. Voting ends June 15, with the finalists announced on June 24. The winner, which will also be decided by the Golden Spikes Award voting body, will be announced in July.

Of the previous 42 winners, only one has played at Arkansas - outfielder Andrew Benintendi in 2015.

Andrew Abbott - LHP - Virginia (ACC)

Tanner Allen - OF - Mississippi State (SEC)

Jacob Berry - INF - Arizona (Pac-12)

Colton Cowser - OF - Sam Houston (Southland)

Henry Davis - C - Louisville (ACC)

Sal Frelick - UTL - Boston College (ACC)

Tyler Hardman - INF - Oklahoma (Big 12)

Jace Jung - INF - Texas Tech (Big 12)

Niko Kavadas - INF - Notre Dame (ACC)

Austin Knight - INF - Charlotte (C-USA)

Kevin Kopps - RHP - Arkansas (SEC)

Jack Leiter - RHP - Vanderbilt (SEC)

Ethan Long - INF - Arizona State (Pac-12)

Ty Madden - RHP - Texas (Big 12)

Matt Mikulski - LHP - Fordham (A-10)

Matheu Nelson - C - Florida State (ACC)

Doug Nikhazy - RHP - Ole Miss (SEC)

Connor Norby - INF - East Carolina (AAC)

Kumar Rocker - RHP - Vanderbilt (SEC)

Spencer Schwellenbach - INF/RHP - Nebraska (Big Ten)

Landon Sims - RHP - Mississippi State (SEC)

Paul Skenes - C/RHP - Air Force (MWC)

Trey Sweeney - 3B - Eastern Illinois (OVC)

Gavin Williams - RHP - East Carolina (AAC)

Aaron Zavala - OF - Oregon (Pac-12)