Two pitchers representing Mississippi universities are up for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award.

USA Baseball announced Thursday the 25 semifinalists for the award, which is presented annually to the most prolific college player in the nation. Both Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius and Ole Miss’ Cade Townsend cracked the list. It’s the latest award each was announced to be up for after Valincius and Townsend became Ferris Trophy finalists earlier this week.

Valincius, a left-hander who followed first-year Bulldog head coach Brian O’Connor to Starkville from Virginia has been a star for Mississippi State this season. In 13 starts, the sophomore is 8-2 with a 2.52 ERA and 105 strikeouts, along with just 16 walks across 75 innings of work.

He has effectively limited opposing hitters to a .209 batting average on the year and ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and wins, and is third in innings pitched and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.56) and WHIP (0.99).

Valincius is the 10th Bulldog to earn a semifinalist distinction from the Golden Spikes Award and the first since Dakota Jordan in 2024. Will Clark is the program’s only Golden Spikes Award winner in 1985 while Rafael Palmeiro and Brent Rooker finished as finalists for the honor in 1984 and 2017, respectively.

For Ole Miss, Townsend is the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 and just the seventh ever to be named a semifinalist for the award. He is the first Ole Miss sophomore to ever be named a semifinalist as all six before him were juniors.

The right-hander boasts a 3.25 ERA and has struck out 77 batters while only allowing 20 earned runs in 55.1 innings. Townsend ranks fifth in the SEC in WHIP (1.01), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.50), and strikeouts per nine innings (12.52). He leads the Rebels in all three categories as well as batters struck out looking (24) and wins and is second in opponent batting average (.202) and total strikeouts (77).

If Townsend is announced as a finalist, he will join Stephen Head and Drew Pomeranz in earning the honor. No Ole Miss player has ever won the Golden Spikes Award.

The full list of semifinalists can be found here. Finalists will be named on June 10, and this year’s Golden Spikes Award winner will be announced on the MLB Network on June 29. Fans can weigh in on which player is their favorite by clicking here.

MARION, N.C. (WLOS) — The City of Marion is tightening water restrictions as drought conditions persist across western North Carolina, prompting local businesses to prepare for possible impacts on daily operations.

The drought monitor released on Thursday, May 14, shows that extreme drought now covers 90% of western North Carolina.

ASHEVILLE IS MORE THAN 7 INCHES BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL THIS YEAR, DATA SHOWS

As the region continues moving into a hotter and drier pattern, the City of Marion officials announced Stage Two water shortage restrictions less than a month after issuing a Stage One Water Advisory.

Businesses in Marion said the quick escalation is raising concerns about what could come next if drought conditions persist.

“They put us in stage one at the end of April and already it’s not through, it’s not the end of May and they’re already putting us in stage two,” said Barbara Brown, owner of Bruce’s.

Under the Stage Two restrictions, watering lawns, gardens and golf courses will be prohibited. Washing cars, filling residential swimming pools and serving water in restaurants except upon request will not be allowed.

Brown said her restaurant is already taking steps to conserve water.

“We check the bathrooms often to make sure people have turned the water off because we have found from time to time, people leave them running,” she added.

She said she worries stronger restrictions could eventually force businesses to make bigger operational changes.

“I’m concerned that eventually we might have to go to paper plates, paper cups, silverware,” Brown said.

Other businesses are also considering adjustments.

Kat Garner, a tattoo artist at Blue Ridge Tattoo, said water shortages could affect how the shop operates day to day.

LEADERS URGE WATER CONSERVATION AS DROUGHT DEEPENS ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

“We would definitely be reduced to using distilled water for everything, which would become harder if everyone’s buying it out, so that would definitely make things a little bit more difficult,” Garner said.

The Stage Two water restrictions are set to begin Friday, May 15, at 8 a.m. and will last until further notice.

An Oklahoma judge on Thursday allowed former death row prisoner Richard Glossip to be released on bond while awaiting retrial over a 1997 killing that put him on the brink of execution three separate times.

The decision clears the way for Glossip, 63, to leave a lockup for the first time since his arrest nearly 30 years ago. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction, and his longstanding claims of innocence have drawn support from Kim Kardashian and other prominent figures.

READ MORE: Supreme Court throws out Oklahoma man Richard Glossip’s murder conviction and death sentence

Judge Natalie Mai issued an order setting bond at $500,000. Glossip must wear an electronic monitoring device and will not be allowed to travel outside Oklahoma. He also must not contact any witnesses in the case, or consume any drugs or alcohol.

It was unclear Thursday when Glossip would be released. He will have to post only 10%, or $50,000, and the process could take two or three days, said his attorney Donald Knight.

Knight also suggested Glossip is counting on contributions to raise the money.

“Mr. Glossip has many supporters and we are hopeful those supporters can afford the bail,” Knight said.

Glossip had been sentenced to death over the 1997 killing in Oklahoma City of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese, in what prosecutors have alleged was a murder-for-hire scheme.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that prosecutors’ decision to allow a key witness to give testimony they knew to be false violated Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial.

Glossip has remained behind bars after Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced the state would seek to retry him on a murder charge but not pursue the death penalty again.

“The court fully expects that the state will rigorously prosecute its case going forward and the defense will provide robust representation for Glossip,” the judge wrote in the order. “The court hopes that a new trial, free of error, will provided all interested parties and the citizens of Oklahoma, the closure they deserve.”

During his time on death row, courts in Oklahoma set nine different execution dates for Glossip, and he came so close to being put to death that he ate three separate last meals. In 2015, he was even held in a cell next to Oklahoma’s execution chamber, waiting to be strapped to a gurney and die by lethal injection.

But the scheduled time for his execution came and went. Behind the walls of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, prison officials were scrambling after learning one of the lethal drugs they received to carry out the procedure didn’t match the execution protocols. The drug mix-up ultimately led to a nearly seven-year moratorium on executions in Oklahoma.

“Mr. Glossip now has the chance to taste freedom while his defense team continues to pursue justice on his behalf against a system that the United States Supreme Court has found to be guilty of serious misconduct by state prosecutors,” Knight said.

Glossip’s case attracted international attention after actress Susan Sarandon — who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean’s fight to save a man on Louisiana’s death row in the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking” — took up his cause in real life. Glossip’s case also was featured in the 2017 documentary film titled “Killing Richard Glossip.”

“Both Richard and I are grateful for the court’s decision,” Glossip’s wife, Lea, said in a text to The Associated Press. “We have been praying for this day.”