Add another award for Louisville superstar Brendan McKay, as the junior takes home the Dick Howser Award.
Louisville's Brendan McKay named 31st recipient of the prestigious Dick Howser Trophy awarded to the nation's top baseball player. #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/PZQzbTHNsX
— Louisville Baseball (@LouisvilleBSB) June 16, 2017
The award, first given out in 1987, honors the best player in college baseball,voted on by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). McKay adds this award after winning the John Olerud Award to become the first three-time winner, and was also selected fourth overall by Tampa Bay in Monday’s MLB Draft. Recent notable winners include Buster Posey (2008), Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Kris Bryant (2013).
McKay earns the award after a phenomenal 2017 season. The junior batted .343 at the plate with 17 home runs, and pitched his way to a 10-3 record with a 2.34 ERA and school-record 140 strikeouts this season. McKay also passed Kyle Funkhouser for the career strikeouts record at Louisville last weekend, solidifying his legacy as perhaps Louisville’s greatest baseball player. The Howser Award is the equivalent of College Football’s Heisman Trophy.
Congrats to @UofLBaseball's Brendan McKay, winner of the 2017 @HowserTrophy! pic.twitter.com/1hTeapGw8q
— ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) June 16, 2017
Congratulations to @UofLBaseball's Brendan McKay on being awarded the 2017 Dick Howser Trophy as the top baseball player in the country! pic.twitter.com/cldPtmF5Lw
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) June 16, 2017
The junior is also awaiting one more award to add to his trophy case. The Golden Spikes Award will announce a winner on June 29th, with McKay as one of four finalists with Mississippi State’s Brent Rooker, North Carolina pitcher J.B. Bukauskas and Virginia’s two-way star Adam Haseley. Fans can vote for McKay at usabaseball.com, where McKay currently trails Rooker in fan voting by almost 40%.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are in preparations to start their fourth run at the College World Series. U of L (52-10) starts pool play against Texas A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m., facing the winner or loser of Florida/TCU.
