MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia second baseman JJ Wetherholt has been named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List as announced by the organization on Wednesday. The sophomore second baseman is one of 45 players nationwide represented and was one of 24 athletes to play their way onto the list since the Preseason Watch List was announced.

Wetherholt is currently leading the nation with 54 hits and is in the top 10 in batting average (.462, 4^th) doubles (14, 7^th), stolen bases (24, 5^th), and total bases (91, 6^th). In the Big 12, he is at the top of the leaderboard in hits, batting average, runs (36), stolen bases, toughest to strike out (10.6), and is second in slugging percentage at .778.

Being named to the Golden Spikes Watch List continues Wetherholt’s string of national recognition as he was named the top second baseman in the country by D1Baseball last week and a Midseason First-Team All-American by Perfect Game on Tuesday.

Wetherholt is the first Mountaineer to be named to the Midseason Watch List since Alek Manoah in 2019.

Overall, the Mountaineers are 21-7 this season and 2-1 in the Big 12 thanks in large part to Wetherholt’s play on the field. They will look to continue their strong play Wednesday night against Marshall in Charleston before returning to Monongalia County Ballpark this weekend for a three-game series with Kansas.