Liam Doyle has been one of the biggest reasons for Tennessee's success so far this season. He has done a great job helping the Vols start off most weekend series with a win and was a huge part in securing the win in the Knoxville Regional final against Wake Forest.
As a result, Doyle has been named one of the finalists for one of the most prestigious awards in college baseball — the Golden Spikes Award. Florida State's Alex Lodise and Arkansas' Wehiwa Aloy join Doyle as finalists for the award.
USA Baseball announced the finalists on Wednesday ahead of the Super Regionals this weekend. The award will be presented to the winner later this month.
Doyle's stellar season as the Vols' best pitcher and is the first player since former Vol Luke Hochevar was named a Golden Spikes finalist in 2005.
"Tennessee ace Liam Doyle is having an All-American caliber junior season for the Vols and has arguably been the most dominant starting pitcher in the country this year," USA Baseball shared.
Doyle has been dominant all season, recording a 10-3 record and a 2.84 ERA across 18 appearances this year. He has recorded 158 strikeouts and 15.50 strikeouts per nine innings, which is good enough for the best in the country and a program single-season record.
On his way to a ten-win season, Doyle also earned SEC Pitcher of the Year honors after a season that saw him named multiple SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Doyle was named SEC pitcher of the Week three times throughout the season, with two of those times coming off a combined no-hitter for the Vols. The third time came after he pitched a career-high and dominant 8.1 innings with 14 strikeouts over his former team, the Ole Miss Rebels.
Doyle and Aloy will meet each other in at least one game this weekend as Tennessee travels to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
Tennessee and Arkansas' first game of the Super Regional series will be on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET on ESPN. Doyle will start the game and hopes to help the Vols take a 1-0 series lead.
Fans will have the opportunity to cast their vote for the Golden Spikes Award winner until June 20. After that, fan voting will close, and the award winner will be announced on June 21.