In 1980, Arizona outfielder Terry Francona led the Wildcats to the NCAA championship and was named the Golden Spikes Award winner as the nation's top college baseball player.
Francona, now manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was part of the MLB Network's telecast of the 2026 Golden Spikes Award show last week; Francona gave the lead-in speech to the three finalists: ASU's Landon Hairston, Georgia's Daniel Jackson (the winner) and UCLA's Roch Cholowsky.
ASU base runner Landon Hairston steals third base against the Cincinnati Bearcats during their Big 12 Tournament game at Surprise Stadium on May 21, 2026.
Hairston, who broke ASU's single-season home run record (28) and hit .400, was accompanied on set by his father, Scott Hairston, a Canyon del Oro graduate who went on to play 11 big league seasons and become the third in his family (following his grandfather, Sam, and father, Jerry) to play in the big leagues. Landon, who will return to ASU for his junior season in 2027, is on track to become the fourth generation of Hairstons to reach the big leagues.
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Also on set at the MLB Network studios was Landon's younger brother, Dallas, who is playing at Central Arizona College, where Scott played before he helped the Tucson Sidewinders win the 2006 Pacific Coast League championship.
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