ASU baseball: Three players named to Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List

TEMPE, Ariz. – ASU baseball leads the way with three players on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, tied with Texas A&M and Virginia.

No other team in the Big 12 has more than one player on the watch list. 

https://twitter.com/USAGoldenSpikes/status/1889397106797842553

A historic program like ASU is looking to finally get back on track this year and all of this talent will surely help that. Pair that with the fact that they will be navigating their first year in the Big 12 the 2025 season has a lot riding on it. Coach Willie Bloomquist is now heading into his fourth year with the Sun Devils with a 90-81 record under his leadership and zero NCAA tournament appearances.

Willie Bloomquist is entering his fourth season at the helm of ASU baseball, looking for his first NCAA Tournament appearance. (Photo by Joshua Eaton/Sun Devil Daily)

Today we’re gonna take a quick look at the Sun Devil’s three Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List selections and what they bring to the table for the 2025 season.

Three ASU baseball standouts named to Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List

Brandon Compton, OF

Last year was Compton’s coming out party, winning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. As a redshirt freshman, he had a slash line that boasted a .355 average with a 1.089 OPS along with 51 RBIs and 14 home runs.

Compton is a local kid from Buckeye, AZ, and attended Buckeye High School. He is the only one of ASU’s three Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List selections who did not transfer to the school and committed to ASU right out of high school.

Compton was selected as the DH for the Preseason First Team All-American team. He was also ranked as the No. 13 outfielder in the country by D1baseball.com. Compton will mainly be used once again as a DH this year but will see some action in the outfield as the season progresses.

He will look to build on last year as he is draft-eligible this year for the MLB. He is currently ranked as the No. 54 prospect on MLB.com’s big board for the 2025 draft. With another good season, he is well within striking distance of becoming a first-round pick.

Ben Jacobs, LHP

Ben Jacobs speaks to the media in a preseason availability at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. (Photo by Joshua Eaton/Sun Devil Daily)

The southpaw comes into this season as the leader and ace of the Sun Devil pitching staff. Last year he had a 4.75 ERA and 1.462 WHIP with 102 strikeouts.

Jacobs, from Huntington Beach, CA transferred in from UCLA to start last year. As a freshman Jacobs only played sparingly there appearing in just seven games and only pitching five total innings.

Jacobs was also picked to a Preseason All-American team where he was selected for the Second Team as a starting pitcher. He was ranked as the No.13 starting pitcher in the country by D1baseball.com.

Along with Compton, Jacobs is looking to build on last year with him being eligible for the upcoming MLB draft. He is ranked No.72 on the mlb.com big board. He was also named Prospects Live’s No. 2 left-handed pitching prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kyle Walker, INF

Walker enters his first year with ASU as a redshirt junior. Before this year he was at Grambling State. In his two years at Grambling State, he had a .379 average and 1.065 OPS with 13 home runs and 72 RBIs.

Kyle Walker looks to slot in at second base for the Sun Devils this season. D1baseball.com ranks him as the No. 12 best player at his position.

A lot of that stems from his defensive capabilities where just last year he recorded 114 defensive assists and turned 26 double plays. This should help sure up the middle of the infield for 2025 along with shortstop Matt King.

Walker should bring stability to the position in 2025 by giving the Sun Devils an everyday starter. If Bloomquist leans on these three plus others like first baseman Jacob Tobias and outfielder Kien Vu in the lineup along with starting pitcher Jack Martinez in the rotation the Sun Devils could be building something special for 2025.

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