Landon Hairston nominated for Golden Spikes, wins award and confirms stay at Arizona State for '27
- Andrew Hayslett
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Despite not playing, it’s been a busy past few days for rising junior outfielder Landon Hairston.
On Wednesday morning, Hairston was announced as one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the top amateur baseball player in the nation. UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky and Georgia’s Daniel Jackson are the other two finalists.
Of the three, Hairston leads in batting average, extra base hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, on base percentage and OPS. He ranks second in runs, home runs, RBI, walks, total bases and stolen bases, all behind Jackson.
Cholowsky’s stats are a step behind Hairston's and Jackson's, almost across the board, whereas Hairston and Jackson are interchangeable. Jackson has played seven more games than Hairston as of June 11, and Jackson will play more games in the College World Series. Had this number been similar, it is reasonable to believe that Hairston could pass Jackson in runs, home runs, RBI, walks and total bases.
Hairston also broke Arizona State’s single-season home run record with 28. He walked more than he struck out. His OPS is the highest in the nation.
He did all of this as a leadoff hitter.
That’s why Hairston was named Baseball America’s 2026 Player of the Year on Thursday morning. This is the fourth Sun Devil to win the honor, breaking a tie for most all-time with Florida State.
A few hours later, Hairston announced that he would return to Arizona State for 2027. The Queen Creek native will stay in the valley after playing high school ball at Casteel. Having Willie Bloomquist as his head coach was a big reason why he stayed in the valley and likely turned down places with higher NIL packages.
His presence in Arizona State’s lineup will be huge in the Sun Devils push to Omaha.