Golden Spikes Award winner: Arkansas' Wehiwa Aloy earns college baseball's player of the year

Aloy is the fourth SEC star to win the award in the last five years

Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy is the 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner, USA Baseball announced on Saturday. The projected first-round pick in next month's MLB Draft hauled in the national honor, which goes annually to the top amateur player in the nation, to become the third winner in program history. Aloy followed Kevin Kopps (2021) and Andrew Benintendi (2015) as Arkansas stars to secure the Golden Spikes.

Tennessee ace Liam Doyle and Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise were the other two finalists for the honor.

Aloy was remarkable at the plate and in the field for the Razorbacks during their run to the College World Series. He batted .350 with 21 home runs, 68 RBI and 81 runs scored while committing just five errors at the shortstop position. Prior to his postseason appearance with Arkansas, Aloy also earned the SEC Player of the Year award.

Three home runs headlined Aloy's postseason production, which included a pair of multi-hit games at the College World Series. The middle infielder smacked one of his NCAA Tournament round-trippers in Omaha and went 6-for-16 with four RBI and a stolen base.

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"In a season that featured outstanding individual efforts from a wide range of players, Wehiwa Aloy stood above the rest," USA Baseball's executive director and CEO Paul Seiler said. "Wehiwa's 2025 season was nothing short of incredible to watch and he is greatly deserving of this honor. We are excited for Wehiwa to join our incredible family of Golden Spikes Award winners and look forward to celebrating his special season."

Aloy opened his college career at Sacramento State and was an immediate success with a 14-homer campaign that earned him the WAC Freshman of the Year honor. He capitalized on the stellar debut with a move through the transfer portal to the SEC, where he joined forces with his brother, Kuhio Aloy, who transferred that same offseason from BYU.

While he matched his freshman home run tally in 2024 at Arkansas, his batting average dipped more than 100 points. An offseason in the Cape Cod League was part of a climb to the top of the sport and sparked a breakout campaign with the Razorbacks this spring.

The lone knock against Aloy's profile is his swing-and-miss propensity, which could cause hesitation from major-league organizations in the draft. Still, he projects as one of the top college players to come off the board and carries tremendous upside as a prospect with his power, speed and defense.