CARY, N.C. – Already recognized as one of the best third basemen in the country, graduate Evan Giordano added another preseason recognition to his resume this afternoon. 

The New Jersey native was one of 55 student-athletes from the high school to college level to be named to the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, the premier baseball honor given annually by USA Baseball to the top amateur player.

Giordano, who was named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year by D1 Baseball and was selected to the Preseason All-CAA Team by the conference coaches, becomes the first Seawolf since Stony Brook Hall of Famer Travis Jankowski in 2012 to be represented on the Preseason Golden Spikes Award List. Also, the third baseman was the only student-athlete in the CAA that was represented on the list. 

The former America East Len Harlow Player of the Year piloted the Seawolves to their seventh regular season championship last season after leading the team in home runs (13), OPS (1.070), total bases (115), OBP (.442), and batting average (.333).

It was one of the best offensive seasons for any Seawolf in Stony Brook history as his 49 RBI were the seventh-most and the 13 homers that Giordano mashed was good for fourth-most by a player in a single-season for the team. 

For his career, Giordano has accumulated a .319 batting average while blasting 22 home runs, driving in 97 RBI, and scoring 96 times over his span of 129 career games.

In total, 40 schools and 16 conferences are represented on this year's Preseason Watch List. There are three players that compete at the Division II level and two high school student-athletes that are looking to become the third non-NCAA Division I player to win the Golden Spikes Award. Recent winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Ivan Melendez (2022), Adley Rutschman (2019), Andrew Benintendi (2015), Kris Bryant (2013), and Bryce Harper (2010). 

For an inside look at the Stony Brook baseball program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A complete list of the 55-player 2023 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List is as follows:

Name; Position; School; Conference
Jeremy Adorno; RHP; Southern Arkansas; Great American
Maui Ahuna; SS; Tennessee; SEC
Drew Beam; RHP; Tennessee; SEC
Enrique Bradfield Jr.; OF; Vanderbilt; SEC
Chase Burns; RHP; Tennessee; SEC
Michael Carico; C; Davidson; A-10
Max Clark; INF; Franklin High School
Carlos Contreras; OF; Sam Houston; Western Athletic
Dylan Crews; OF; LSU; SEC
Wyatt Crowell; LHP; Florida State; ACC
Chase Davis; OF; Arizona; PAC-12
Chase Dollander; RHP; Tennessee; SEC
Hunter Elliott; LHP; Ole Miss; SEC
Kendal Ewell; OF; Kentucky; SEC
Jake Gelof; INF; Virginia; ACC
Evan Giordano; 3B; Stony Brook; CAA
Jacob Gonzalez; INF; Ole Miss; SEC
Joseph Gonzalez; RHP; Auburn; SEC
LuJames Groover III; INF; NC State; ACC
Tanner Hall; RHP; Southern Miss; Sun Belt
Carter Holton; LHP; Vanderbilt; SEC
Vance Honeycutt; OF; UNC; ACC
Jack Hurley; OF; Virginia Tech; ACC
Mitch Jebb; INF; Michigan State; Big Ten
Walker Jenkins; OF; South Brunswick High School
Kennedy Jones; INF/OF; UNCG; SoCon
Caden Kendle; OF; UC Irvine; Big West
Sam Kulasingam; INF; Air Force; Mountain West
Nick Kurtz; INF/OF; Wake Forest; ACC
Wyatt Langford; OF; Florida; SEC
Ryan Lasko; OF; Rutgers; Big Ten
Rhett Lowder; RHP; Wake Forest; ACC
Quinn Mathews; LHP; Stanford; PAC-12
Nolan McLean; OF/INF/RHP; Oklahoma State; Big 12
John Michael Faile II; C; North Greenville; Carolinas
Braden Montgomery; OF/RHP; Stanford; PAC-12
Yohandy Morales; INF; Miami; ACC