University of Louisville lefthanded pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was named Wednesday as the NCAA Division I National Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Wednesday’s announcement marked the sixth National Player of the Year award in 2017 for McKay, who was honored as the Dick Hoswer Trophy recipient and was named as the nation’s best player by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball newspaper, D1Baseball and Perfect Game. The Darlington, Pennsylvania also earned his third straight John Olerud Two-Way National Player of the Year Award and became the highest MLB Draft selection in school history going fourth overall to the Tampa Bay Rays.
McKay, who signed professionally with the Rays on Tuesday night, closed his collegiate career with an 11-3 record, 2.56 ERA and school record 146 strikeouts on the mound during his final season with the Cardinals. During his three-year career, McKay accumulated a 32-10 record (second most wins in school history) with a 2.23 ERA and 391 strikeouts, the most ever for a Louisville pitcher. At the plate, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year had a .341 batting average, 18 home runs, 15 doubles, 57 RBIs and a .457 on-base percentage in 63 starts as a hitter this season. In 182 career starts and 189 total appearances as a hitter, McKay had a .328 career batting average with 28 home runs, 48 doubles and 132 RBIs.
The two-way standout was a consensus All-America selection in both 2016 and 2017 while also pacing head coach Dan McDonnell’s squad to its first NCAA World Series appearance since 2014 (fourth in school history). Named to the 2017 CWS All-Tournament Team on Tuesday night, McKay was an All-ACC First Team honoree in each of his three seasons and was the 2015 National Freshman of the Year (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, Perfect Game).
The Cardinals closed their record-setting 2017 season with a 53-12 mark overall after making the program’s fourth College World Series appearance. Louisville set school record for victories in a season surpassing the previous record of 51 achieved in 2013 while also winning its opening game in Omaha for the first time in its four CWS berths. The 2017 season also included the program’s third straight ACC Atlantic Division championship while McKay was the program’s first National Player of the Year.
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Garett Wall
Assistant Sports Information Director
