Arkansas Baseball: Kevin Kopps honored at Arkansas vs Auburn football game

Former Arkansas baseball player Kevin Kopps was honored for his fantastic accomplishments during the Arkansas vs Auburn football game Oct. 16.

Kopps is one of the greatest and most decorated baseball players in the history of Arkansas baseball.

He was awarded the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, given to the greatest baseball player in the country. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2021 MLB Draft and has been quickly working his way up from rookie ball to Class-AA.

The PA announcer at the game introduced Kopps on the field with his Golden Spikes Award in front of a sold-out Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Here’s what the announcer said:

"Kevin Kopps is the recipient of the 2021 Golden Spikes Award, awarded to the nation’s most dominant amateur player and regarded as college baseball’s Heisman trophy. The 2021 Golden Spikes was awarded for a season that was unlikely as any seen before. A 3rd-round MLB Draft pick by San Diego, the Sugar Land, Texas native swept every major award in college baseball this past season— a feat unheard of in collegiate circles. Razorback fans, let’s give a big Razorback round of applause: welcome back No. 45 Kevin Kopps!"

Here’s a video of the awesome moment, courtesy of Arkansas baseball’s Twitter account.

Kevin Kopps helped Arkansas to a 50-13 record last season and were a game away from playing the 2021 College World Series.

Kopps finished the season appearing in 33 games for the Razorbacks, facing 309 batters and striking out 131 of them. He gave up just 9 runs in 33 games, finishing with a dominating ERA of 0.90 for the Hogs.

Kevin Kopps is only the second player in Arkansas baseball history to have received the Golden Spikes Award. The other player was Andrew Benintendi in 2015.