McKay Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
April 12, 2017 | Baseball
Junior hitting .400 with six home runs and 27 RBI to go with 4-2 record, 1.40 ERA and 68 strikeouts
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville junior lefty pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was named Wednesday to the midseason watch list for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award. The 40-player list was announced by USA Baseball and is the second step in identifying the top amateur baseball player in the nation for the 2017 season.
Wednesday's release marked the third consecutive year McKay has been included on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award. The Darlington, Pennsylvania native was selected as a semifinalist for the award in each of his first two collegiate seasons. The 40th Golden Spikes Award will be presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation on June 29 in Los Angeles.
McKay, who was tabbed as the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America honors in each of his first two seasons at Louisville, has opened the 2017 season impressively hitting .400 with six home runs, 27 RBI, .523 on-base percentage and .680 slugging percentage. On the mound, he has a 4-2 record with a 1.40 ERA, 68 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 45.0 innings pitched. During his three-year collegiate career, McKay has a 25-9 record, 1.93 ERA and 313 strikeouts in 44 total appearances while maintaining a .336 batting average, 16 home runs and 102 RBI.
On Wednesday, May 31, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award. The list of semifinalists will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow amateur baseball closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 39 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com from May 31-June 9. On Wednesday, June 14, USA Baseball will announce the finalists for the award, and fan voting will once again commence that same day. Fan voting for the finalists will end on Friday, June 23.
The 2017 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Thursday, June 29, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Award Dinner that evening at Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
Up next, No. 2 Louisville travels to Atlanta for a three-game set at Georgia Tech, which begins Thursday at 6 p.m., ET. The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets will continue the series on Friday at 6 p.m., while the weekend finale is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
A complete list of the 40-player USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list is as follows:
Name, Year, Position, School
Tyler Adkinson, Jr., OF, San Diego State
Joey Bart, So., C, Georgia Tech
J.B. Bukauskas, Jr., P, North Carolina
Jake Burger, Jr., IF, Missouri St.
Griffin Canning, Jr., P, UCLA
Morgan Cooper, Jr., P, Texas
Alex Cunningham, Sr., P, Coastal Carolina
Greg Deichmann, Jr., OF, LSU
Alex Faedo, Jr., P, Florida
Ben Fisher, Sr., IF, Eastern Kentucky
Steven Gingery, So., P, Texas Tech
Dre Gleason, Sr., IF, Austin Peay
Adam Haseley, Jr., OF/P, Virginia
Luke Heimlich, Jr., P, Oregon State
Keston Hiura, Jr., IF/OF, UC Irvine
Tyler Holton, So., P, Florida State
Tanner Houck, Jr., P, Missouri
Marshall Kasowski, Jr., P, West Texas A&M
Jeren Kendall, Jr., OF, Vanderbilt
Nolan Kingham, So., RHP, Texas
Blaine Knight, So., P, Arkansas
Gunner Leger, Jr., P, Louisiana Lafayette
Nick Madrigal, So., IF, Oregon State
J.J. Matijevic, Jr., IF, Arizona
Brendan McKay, Jr., IF/P, Louisville
Kevin Merrell, Jr., IF/OF, South Florida
Casey Mize, So., P, Auburn
Eli Morgan, Jr., P, Gonzaga
David Peterson, Jr., P, Oregon
Jared Poche, Sr., P, LSU
Brent Rooker, Jr., OF, Mississippi State
Jake Scheiner, Jr., IF, Houston
Clarke Schmidt, Jr., P, South Carolina
JP Sears, Jr., P, Citadel
Danny Sexton, Jr., LHP, Wright State
Brian Shaffer, Jr., P, Maryland
Pavin Smith, Jr., IF/OF, Virginia
Keegan Thompson, Jr., P, Auburn
Logan Warmoth, Jr., IF, North Carolina
Evan White, Jr., IF, Kentucky
