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Baseball starts award season early with Golden Spikes, Dick Howser Award semifinalists

Landon Hairston and Nu'u Contrades started bringing in the accolades for the Sun Devils.

Baseball starts award season early with Golden Spikes, Dick Howser Award semifinalistsBaseball starts award season early with Golden Spikes, Dick Howser Award semifinalists
Alyssa Colwell

PHOENIX -- The postseason awards haul kicked off with a bang for Sun Devil Baseball with Landon Hairston being named a semifinalist for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy while teammate Nu’u Contrades also earned a nod to the Howser Trophy semifinalist list. Both awards annually recognize the best players in college baseball. 

Hairston’s inclusion on the prestigious Golden Spikes semifinalist list as one of the 25 semifinalists marks the 12th time in program history a Sun Devil player has been recognized. Hairston and Contrades mark a trend in the Willie Bloomquist era for the Dick Howser Trophy, giving him at least one semifinalist in each of the last four seasons.

Hairston and Contrades represent the top of the lineup in one of the most dangerous offenses in the country with the Sun Devils ranking in the Top 10 nationally in batting average, hits, home runs and slugging percentage.

Summaries of Hairston and Contrades’ accolades and accomplishments this season can be found below.

On the Golden Spikes Award

USA Baseball announced the 25 semifinalists for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award, moving one step closer to identifying the top amateur baseball player in the nation. The 48th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 29 on MLB Network at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the most outstanding amateur baseball player in the nation with the Golden Spikes Award. The award is given each year to the player who best exhibits exceptional on-field ability, exemplary sportsmanship and character, and an overall positive contribution to the sport.

On the Dick Howser Trophy

The Dick Howser Trophy Committee, in conjunction with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, has named the 48 semifinalists for the 2026 Dick Howser Trophy presented by The Game Headwear. This prestigious award in college baseball has been given to the top player based on two rounds of national voting by NCBWA members since 1987. This is the 39th year of the Dick Howser Trophy, and the 2026 finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 4.

The Dick Howser Trophy, presented by The Game Headwear, is given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987. The trophy is regarded as baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – all qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

Landon Hairston
So.///Outfielder///Queen Creek, Ariz.

  • Landon Hairston has not experienced any sort of sophomore slump in Year Two with the program, quickly establishing himself as one of the elite pure AND power hitters in the country.
  • Hairston is third in the nation with his .421 batting average. He had his 28-game hitting streak ended at UCF earlier in May, which was tied for the fifth-longest in Sun Devil school history. 
  • Hairston enters the weekend 25 home runs, a total that is fifth in nation and tied with Spencer Torkelson (2018) and Bob Horner (1978) for second-most in single season history. ASU’s single school record of 27, set by Mitch Jones in 2000 is very much worth keeping an eye on in coming weeks.
  • His 19 doubles this season are tied for 29th the country and second in the Big 12.
  • Should he reach 20 in both doubles and homers, he would join Bob Horner’s 1978 season as the only other time a player reached the 20/20 club at ASU.
  • He enters the weekend as one of just 15 players in the nation with at least 15 homers AND 15 doubles.
  • Hairston’s leads the entire nation with his 1.434 OPS (min. 3 PA per game) - over 60 points higher than the next closest player. His .906 slugging percentage is also tops in the nation
  • Of his 81 hits this season, 46 have gone for extra bases (19 doubles, 25 homers, 2 triples) -three more than any other player.
  • Hairston had just one extra-base hit through his first 27 games as a Sun Devil. In his 78 games since, he has 62 extra-base hits.
  • He has had just 18 games this season WITHOUT an extra base hit. He had a streak of 13 consecutive games with an extra-base hit ended against Arizona on April 13.
  • Hairston is the national leader with his four grand slams this season - also tying the ASU school record in the process. The NCAA single season record is six.
  • His 407.95 average distance on his homers is 15th among D1 players with 14+ home runs this season (144 total). Hairston’s 94.1 average exit velocity is 42nd in the nation.
  • Hairston’s WAR of 4.91 is tops in the country while his 64.39 total Offensive Runs over Replacement is also first - five more than any other player.
  • Hairston has 74 RBIs this season, good for second in the country. HOWEVER, all 74 RBIs have come while hitting as the leadoff batter in the Sun Devil lineup, which is easily the most of any Division I player - 19 more than Graham Grahovac at Texas A&M.
  • For perspective, that total is already for most for ANY leadoff hitter in Division RBIs for a season since at least 2019, surpassing Christian Moore’s 71 over 65 games in 2024.
  • 25 of Hairston’s RBIs this season have come in pitcher’s counts (0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2) - 24th-most in the nation. His eight homers while trailing in the count are tied for 12th nationally.
  • His 32 hits overall in pitcher’s counts are tied for 33rd-best in the country with his .400 average in that scenario good for sixth and his .813 slugging percentage is first. 
  • Hairston is batting .345 overall with two strikes this season, good for 13th in the nation.
  • Other teams have continuously tried to keep Landon Hairston off guard as 59 times this season an opponent has made a pitching change either directly before facing the lefty or within two batters of facing him. And continuously, Hairston has shown that it doesn’t make a difference.
  • His 11 home runs as one of the first three batters an opponent reliever has faced are 1st in the country and three more than any other player. He has 25 hits and 32 RBIs in that scenario, ranking first in both categories. He is batting .543 off new pitchers that face him within their first three batters faced - third-best in the country. His absurd 2.079 OPS off those new pitchers is near .300 points higher than any other player. In fact, that’s the highest of any player in the country since AT LEAST 2019.
  • Hairston has been equally a pest as the very first batter of a game, having recorded a hit to leadoff a game 22 times (in 51 games) - the second-highest total in the country (UT Martin’s TJ Grimes, 25).
  • His .468 average to lead off games is eighth among all players with at least 30 games led off. He has a hit on the FIRST PITCH of a game nine times - two more than anyone else in the nation.
  • Hairston is also second in the country with his 73 runs scored, two off the national lead.
  • Opponents have intentionally walked Hairston 11 times this season, the third-highest total in the country. 

Nu'u Contrades
R-Jr.///Infielder///Ewa Beach, Hawai'i

  • Nu'u Contrades is ASU’s most veteran presence as he enters his fourth year with the program - a rarity in the modern age of college baseball. Contrades was selected by his teammates as a Co-Captain of the 2026 squad entering the year.
  • Since the start of April, Contrades has at least one extra-base hit in 15 of 21 games. His 18 extra-base hits in that time are 15th in the country as he vaulted to the No. 2 ranking among second basemen by D1Baseball in their Week 12 update.
  • Contrades’ 15 homers are 10th in the conference despite missing a decent chunk of time this season and batting off one leg for the majority of the season.
  • Contrades is one of 15 players with at least 15 doubles and 15 homers this season.
  • Contrades’ 408.22 average distance on his homers is 13th in the nation among players with at least 14 homers this season.
  • Contrades has homered four times off relievers entering the game as the first batter they have faced, tied for fourth-most in the country. His 11 RBIs in that scenario are tied for 13th in the country.
  • Contrades has struck out just 24 times this season (14.5 percent on 165 ABs). Last season, he notably struck out just 30 times - compared to 28 walks - on 181 ABs on the year (16.6 percent) after striking out 51 times with just 9 walks his freshman season on 217 ABs (23.5 percent). 
  • Unfortunately the veteran was down a couple games while dealing with a hamstring injury sustained in the finale against LMU, missing nearly three weeks and the first two weekends of Big 12 action. Even with returning to the lineup, Contrades has operated mostly under 100 percent with the injury lingering.
  • Prior to his injury, Contrades was credited with saving 3.09 runs on infield ground balls this season, good for 34th in the nation but third among all second basemen.