AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas freshman closing pitcher Dylan Volantis is a semifinalist for college baseball’s most outstanding player award.
USA Baseball tabbed Volantis, tied for sixth in NCAA Division I with 12 saves, as one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. Past winners include Georgia’s Charlie Condon last year, Louisiana State’s Dylan Crews in 2023 and Longhorns slugger Ivan Melendez in 2022.
Volantis is also a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, given by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He saved 11 of Texas’ 22 wins during Southeastern Conference play, breaking an SEC record held for 22 years by Ole Miss hurler Steven Head.
With the SEC tournament coming up, Volantis has pitched 43.1 innings and has allowed eight earned runs. He leads the conference with an ERA of 1.59, 0.85 WHIP and a .160 batting average against.
Volantis is one of eight players from the SEC named to the semifinalist list. Texas is the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament and will begin play Thursday in Hoover, Alabama.
