Alabama and Auburn have each had special baseball seasons, campaigns that each program hopes can continue with deep postseason runs starting with the SEC Tournament this week.

The Tigers earned the No. 6 seed in the SEC Tournament and will face the winner of No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 11 Mississippi State in their first game, and their season has been led by one of the best players in the conference and in the country who just received a special honor.

Star slugging catcher Ike Irish — seen as one of the top prospect’s in this summer’s Major League Baseball draft — has been nominated for the Golden Spikes award.

The award is given to the most outstanding player in college baseball, something Irish has certainly been one of.

He has hit .354 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI while excelling on defense as well.

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As for Alabama, the Tide earned the No. 9 seed and take on No. 16 Missouri on Tuesday morning, facing No. 8 Tennessee on Wednesday if they can pull off a win.

Alabama’s superstar shortstop Justin Lebron was also named a finalist following a spectacular season in which he hit .313 with 18 home runs.

There has not been a Golden Spikes winner in Tuscaloosa since Dave Magadan in 1983, while Auburn has produced five since 2007, including Sonny DiChiara in 2022.

Both players will be someone to keep a close eye on this week in Hoover and beyond though as each team looks like a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

Whether either of their seasons can end in some serious hardware remains to be seen.