McKay Named Finalist for Dick Howser Trophy
June 08, 2017 | Baseball
Junior two-way standout among four finalists for the national player of the year honor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville junior lefthander and first baseman Brendan McKay was named Thursday as a finalist for the 31st annual Dick Howser Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in collegiate baseball.
McKay is joined as a finalist by pitcher J.B. Bukauskas of North Carolina, Mississippi State first baseman Brent Rooker and Oregon State pitcher Jake Thompson. The winner will be announced on Saturday, June 17, at a 10 a.m. (CDT) national news conference at TD Ameritrade Park – home of the 71st annual NCAA World Series.
A native of Darlington, Pennsylvania, McKay has already earned a pair of 2017 National Player of the Year awards receiving the honor from both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Entering this week's NCAA Super Regional, McKay has a .356 batting average, 17 home runs, 56 RBI, .683 slugging percentage and .476 on-base percentage. On the mound, McKay owns a 9-3 record with a 2.31 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 97.1 innings while opposing batters are hitting just .178 against him.
Along with his national player of the year awards, McKay was named as the 2017 ACC Player of the Year, is a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award and is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. His other honors this season include being named National Player of the Month in February by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the National Midseason Player of the Year by Perfect Game and the National Midseason Most Valuable Player by D1Baseball.
The No. 7 national seed Cardinals (50-10) will make their fifth straight NCAA Super Regional appearance, including the fourth consecutive at home, when they host Kentucky in the best-of-three series starting Friday at noon ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.
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