Sophomore Gavin Kelly and redshirt junior Maxx Yehl were named semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, according to a May 14 announcement. Kelly was also selected as a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
These recognitions highlight both players’ significant contributions to the West Virginia Mountaineers men’s baseball team this season. The Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award are two of college baseball’s most prestigious individual honors.
Kelly leads the Mountaineers in several offensive categories, including batting average (.391), home runs (12), runs batted in (46), hits (72), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.178), slugging percentage (.696), and total bases (128). He has shown versatility by playing 26 games as catcher and 20 at second base, maintaining a .985 fielding percentage and throwing out 38% of attempted base stealers.
Yehl has been an effective pitcher after returning from Tommy John surgery in 2025. He holds a record of seven wins and one loss, leads the Big 12 Conference with a 2.04 earned run average, and has struck out 79 batters over 66.1 innings pitched. His recent performance included pitching a complete game against No.7 Kansas with nine strikeouts in a 4-1 win.
Kelly is now the third Mountaineer to be named a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, following Alek Manoah in 2019 and JJ Wetherholt in 2023. Both Kelly and Yehl join Manoah and Wetherholt as West Virginia players who have reached Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist status.
