ESPN Kyle Peterson on College World Series and Ivan Melendez

AUSTIN, Texas - As Texas Baseball heads to Omaha for the 38th time, we had the privilege to talk with ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson over Zoom and asked if Ivan Melendez needed to do anything in the College World Series to cement the Golden Spikes Award nomination.

Ivan Melendez is considered the best hitter in the country and holds the record for home runs with 32 on the season. Melendez is from El Paso, Texas and has been playing at Texas for two years after spending his freshman and sophomore years playing for Odessa College.

In those two years at Texas, Melendez has been to the plate 444 times, got 160 hits, 113 runs, 45 home runs, 31 doubles, 5 triples, struck out 113, slugging % .757, On-base % .481, and a batting average of .360.

Melendez is the College Baseball National Player of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year, 2022, Golden Spikes Award Finalist.