Funkhouser, McKay on Golden Spikes Watch List
April 09, 2015 | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. - Louisville junior righthander Kyle Funkhouser and freshman pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay were named to the 60-player midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list on Thursday.
A native of Oak Forest, Ill., Funkhouser is 4-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 54 strikeouts in eight starts and 52.2 innings pitched this season. Named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list and an All-American last season, Funkhouser is 22-6 with a 2.06 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 227.2 innings pitched during his collegiate career in Louisville.
McKay, from Darlington, Pa., is 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 40.0 innings and 11 appearances on the mound, including four straight weekend starts. At the plate, McKay has a .289 average with one home run, 14 RBI, 21 walks and 19 runs scored in 25 starts at first base, designated hitter and pitcher.
Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, 2015 marks the 38th year of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. The watch list will continue to be a "rolling" list until May 27 -- when the semifinalists for the award are announced -- ensuring that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award.
On May 22, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award. The semifinalists list will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow the amateur game closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 37 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2015. Friday, May 22, marks the day when amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list. On Tuesday, June 2, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day.
The 2015 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Tuesday, June 23, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Dinner that evening at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.
GoldenSpikesAward.com - created in 2008 and powered by MLB Advanced Media -- is the online home for the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the GSA, including news, the weekly Golden Spikes Award spotlight, voting history and past winner photo galleries.
Up next, No. 5 Louisville returns to ACC action with a weekend series at Duke starting Friday at 6 p.m., ET. The series will continue on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) with all three weekend games to be played at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
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 60-player USA Baseball midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list is as follows:
Name, Position, Class, School, Conference
Nick Banks, OF, Sophomore, Texas A&M, SEC
Harrison Bader, OF, Junior, Florida, SEC
David Berg, RHP, Senior, UCLA, Pac 12
Phil Bickford, RHP, Sophomore, CC of Southern Nevada, Scenic West (JC)
Alex Bregman, SS, Junior, LSU, SEC
Ryan Burr, RHP, Junior, Arizona State, Pac 12
Austin Byler, 3B, Senior, Nevada, Mountain West
Will Craig, 1B/RHP, Sophomore, Wake Forest, ACC
Matthew Crownover, LHP, Junior, Clemson, ACC
Collins Cuthrell, 3B, RS-Senior, UNC-Pembroke, Peach Belt Conference
Tyler Davis, RHP, Senior, Washington, Pac 12
Paul DeJong, 2B, RS-Junior, Illinois State, Missouri Valley
Thomas Eshelman, RHP, Junior, Cal State Fullerton, Big West
Riley Ferrell, RHP, Junior, TCU, Big 12
Michael Freeman, LHP, Senior, Oklahoma State, Big 12
Carson Fulmer, RHP, Junior, Vanderbilt, SEC
Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Junior, Louisville, ACC
Luke Gillingham, LHP, Junior, Navy, Patriot League
Ian Happ, OF, Junior, Cincinnati, American Athletic
Jon Harris, RHP, Junior, Missouri State, Missouri Valley
KJ Harrison, 1B, Freshman, Oregon State, Pac 12
Kyle Holder, SS, Junior, San Diego, West Coast
Tanner Houck, RHP, Freshman, Missouri, SEC
Ryan Howell, IF/OF, Junior, Nevada, Mountain West
Eric Hsieh, 1B, Senior, Yale, Ivy
Casey Hughston, IF/OF, Sophomore, Alabama, SEC
Chris Iriart, 1B, Junior, Houston, American Athletic
Tyler Jay, LHP, Junior, Illinois, Big 10
Ben Johnson, OF, Sophomore, Texas, Big 12
James Kaprielian, RHP, Junior, UCLA, Pac 12
Scott Kingery, 2B, Junior, Arizona, Pac 12
Nathan Kirby, LHP, Junior, Virginia, ACC
Sam Koenig, OF/3B, Senior, UW-Milwaukee, Horizon League
Kevin Kramer, 3B, RS-Junior, UCLA, Pac 12
Alex Lange, RHP, Freshman, LSU, SEC
Grayson Long, RHP, Junior, Texas A&M, SEC
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Sophomore, Maryland, Big 10
Kyle Martin, 1B, Senior, South Carolina, SEC
Brendan McKay, IF/OF, Freshman, Louisville, ACC
Andrew Moore, RHP, Junior, Oregon State, Pac 12
Preston Morrison, RHP, Senior, TCU, Big 12
Kevin Newman, SS, Junior, Arizona, Pac 12
Kade Scivicque, C, Senior, LSU, SEC
Chris Shaw, OF, Junior, Boston College, ACC
Mike Shawaryn, RHP, Sophomore, Maryland, Big 10
Logan Shore, RHP, Sophomore, Florida, SEC
Bobby Stahel, OF, RS-Junior, USC, Pac 12
DJ Stewart, OF, Junior, Florida State, ACC
Christin Stewart, OF, Junior, Tennessee, SEC
Garrett Stubbs, C, Senior, USC, Pac 12
Dansby Swanson, SS, Junior, Vanderbilt, SEC
Dillon Tate, RHP, Junior, UCSB, Big West
David Thompson, 3B, Junior, Miami, ACC
Josh Tobias, 3B, Senior, Florida, SEC
Blake Trahan, SS, Junior, Louisiana-Lafayette, Sun Belt
Mitchell Traver, RHP, RS-Sophomore, TCU, Big 12
Mikey White, SS, Junior, Alabama, SEC
Zander Wiel, 1B, RS Junior, Vanderbilt, SEC
Tommy Williams, SS, Senior, UCF, American Athletic
Trey York, 2B, Junior, East Tennessee State, SoCon
