SU’s Weeks one of five finalists for Golden Spikes Award

Southern University second baseman Rickie Weeks is a one of the five finalists for USA’s Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s player of the year.
Weeks, a two-time All-American and top pro prospect, is hitting .500 this season with 16 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .987 slugging percentage. The junior second baseman is also 27-for-27 on stolen bases.
Weeks, a native of Altamonte Springs, Fla., was also named the Southwestern Athletic Conferences Most Outstanding Hitter and the unanimous selection for Player of the Year.
Others considered for the Golden Spikes award include Tulane University’s Michael Aubrey, Stanford University outfielder Carlos Quinton, pitchers Kyle Sleeth, of Wake Forest University and Tim Stauffer from the University of Richmond.
Four of the five players (Weeks, Aubrey, Sleeth, Stauffer,) are the first players to ever be named an USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award finalist from their respective schools. All five players are junior classmen, and are eligible for the upcoming Major League Baseball player entry draft in June. Weeks is expected and predicted my many baseball publications to be the first college player selected.
Weeks helped the Jaguars earn another SWAC championship and a spot in the NCAA regionals, going 6-for-10 with three homers, 10 runs scored, seven RBIs, six stolen bases and four walks to earn Hitter of the Week honors. Weeks also earned this week’s Louisiana Sports Writers Association baseball players of the week honors.
The 2003 Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 15, during the broadcast of the 26th Annual Golden Spikes Award show. The broadcast, presented in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Players Association, will be seen on various regional cable sports networks, each covering a region of the country from which the five Golden Spikes Award finalists are from. The television show will be aired just a few hours prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on FOX, and it will be hosted by George Grande – longtime TV play-by-play voice of the Cincinnati Reds.
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the USA Baseball Olympic Team, the USA Baseball National Team, the USA Baseball Junior National team (18-under), and the USA Baseball Youth National Team (16-under) which participate in various international competitions each year.