Super Regionals start on Friday and college baseball has reached the peak of postseason play.

There are now 16 squads left, each loaded with elite talent, but what player is the best of the bunch? We are now closer than ever to getting that answer.

On Wednesday, USA Baseball announced their finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, whittling down the 25-name semifinalists list to a mere three names: Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana, Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Arkansas’ Hagen Smith.

The trio all rank within the top six of MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 200 prospects list and two the of three (Bazzana and Condon) are still competing for a chance to go to Omaha for the Men’s College World Series.

Bazzana – ranked as the No. 1 Draft prospect – has had a historic season for the Beavers. He became Oregon State’s all-time leader in hits and home runs, swatting a Pac-12 leading 28 homers so far this season. The Australia native currently ranks second in the country in walks (74), on-base percentage (.575), slugging percentage (.937), and OPS (1.512) and took home Pac-12 Player of the Year honors.

The 6-foot-1 second baseman sports a .415 batting average, which ranks fourth in the nation, and took home the MVP award in the Corvallis Regional this past weekend. He is the fourth Oregon State player to be a Golden Spikes Award finalist and could become the second to win the award, joining the Orioles’ Adley Rutschman.

Similarly to Bazzana, Condon has set a record of his own in 2024. The No. 2 Draft prospect set the BBCOR-era home run record with 36 big flies so far this season and was named as the SEC Player of the Year. The Bulldog third baseman has tallied seven multihomer games in 2024 and had a stretch earlier in the season – from April 26-May 9 – in which he homered in eight consecutive contests. The streak was one jack short of the NCAA record.

It didn’t take long for Condon to leave the yard in postseason play. The 6-foot-6 slugger went deep in his first at-bat of the regional round and was named to the Athens Regional All-Tournament Team. Condon is the fifth Golden Spikes Award finalist in Georgia’s history and could become the first to take home the honor.

Rounding out the group is Arkansas’ Hagen Smith. The left-hander had a stellar campaign in 2024, posting a country-leading .144 batting average against and 17.25 strikeouts per nine innings. He also notched 161 total punchouts, leading the SEC and ranking second in the nation.

The No. 6 prospect’s 2.04 ERA paced the conference and was fourth-best in the nation. One of the season’s highlights for Smith, who is now the all-time strikeout leader for the Razorbacks, was an impressive 17-strikeout start against Oregon State in February. He is the fourth Arkansas player to be a finalist and could become the third winner in the program’s history.

Since 1978, USA Baseball has awarded the Golden Spikes Award to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Last year’s winner, LSU’s Dylan Crews, was drafted second overall in the 2023 Draft and is now MLB’s No. 6 prospect.

The 46th Golden Spikes Award winner will be crowned on June 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN ahead of Game 1 of the College World Series finals.