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  • K-State's Culpepper And Neighbors Named To The Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

K-State's Culpepper And Neighbors Named To The Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

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Baseball

K-State juniors Kaelen Culpepper and Tyson Neighbors were selected to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, which honors the nation's top amateur player, the organization released.

With the additions of Culpepper and Neighbors, K-State has landed six total Wildcats on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List with Jared King (2013) and Ross Kivett (2014), and major leaguers Nick Martini (2011) and Jordan Wicks (2021).

Culpepper, a Preseason First Team All-American by Baseball America, is coming off a standout sophomore season where he produced a career-best slash line of .325/.423/.576 with 10 home runs and 41 RB. The Wildcats' every day starter is projected to be the No. 28 overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline.

The Memphis, Tenn., product was just one of three Wildcats to reach double figure home runs while his slugging percentage led the Cats' offense and was second in batting average. Culpepper was the top slugger for Team USA last summer as he led the Red, White, and Blue with a .471 batting average and slugging percentage of .853.

Neighbors heads into the 2024 season ranked as the No. 1 reliever in the nation by D1Baseball after a breakout season where he turned in league-high 11 saves and 1.85 ERA The consensus All-American and NCBWA Stopper of the Year Finalist held opponents to a .135 batting average with 86 strikeouts in 25 appearances.

In 48 2/3 innings, Neighbors allowed just 10 earned runs and accumulated a 5-1 record. The Royse City, Texas native broke the program's TrackMan-era pitch velocity record last year at 99-mph in the series opening win against Texas Tech.

The preseason list includes 55 players across high school and college baseball. The Golden Spikes Advisory Board will maintain the award's watch list on a rolling basis, allowing athletes to play themselves into consideration for the award based on in-season performance.

The Wildcats begin the 2024 campaign on February 16 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. K-State will lead off the season with games against with Cal, Boston College, and Georgetown during the three-day event held at Salt River Park and Sloan Park – the spring training homes of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago Cubs.