Four Cards Named Louisville Slugger All-Americans; McKay & Ray Up for Golden Spikes Award

Mark BlankenbakerJune 3, 2016

Four Cardinals Named Louisville Slugger All-Americans

A school record four members of the Louisville baseball team earned 2016 Louisville Slugger All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball newspaper on Thursday, highlighted by junior pitcher Drew Harrington receiving first team recognition. Junior pitcher Zack Burdi and junior outfielder Corey Ray were named to the second team, while sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay earned third team accolades.

Thursday’s announcement marked the first time in school history four Cardinals have received All-America recognition from one organization. Harrington was named as an All-American for the first time in his collegiate career, while Burdi, Ray and McKay were All-American selections by multiple outlets last season.

Selected as the 2016 ACC Pitcher of the Year last week, Harrington enters this weekend’s NCAA Regional with an 11-2 record, 2.24 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 96.1 innings pitched. A native of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Harrington has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 12 of his 15 starts this season and is tied for sixth nationally in wins. In his 10 regular season ACC starts, Harrington was 8-0 with a 1.33 ERA.

A native of Downers Grove, Illinois, Burdi has 10 saves this season and ranks second in career saves at Louisville with 19 while accumulating 45 strikeouts and just seven walks in 27.0 innings pitched and 25 relief appearances this season. The hard-throwing righty was an All-ACC First Team honoree out of the bullpen and has a 2.00 ERA and a 1-2 record on the mound in his second season as Louisville’s closer.

An All-ACC First Team outfielder, Ray is hitting .320 overall with 15 home runs, 58 RBI and 39 stolen bases while starting all 59 games this season. Ray, a Chicago native who ranks fourth in the nation in stolen bases and is among the top 30 in home runs, also has 16 doubles, 54 runs scored and 33 walks as the everyday leadoff hitter for the ACC Atlantic Division champion Cardinals.

Selected as an All-ACC First Team honoree as both a starting pitcher and utility player, McKay has an 11-3 record on the mound with a 2.25 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 15 starts and 96.0 innings pitched. A native of Darlington, Pennsylvania, McKay has a .330 batting average with four home runs, 37 RBI and 19 doubles in 56 starts as a hitter.

Brendan McKay & Corey Ray Golden Spikes Semi-Finalists

Louisville junior outfielder Corey Ray and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay were named Wednesday as semifinalists for the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award.

Ray (Chicago, Illinois) and McKay (Darlington, Pennsylvania) were among the 25 student-athletes selected as semifinalists for the 39th Golden Spikes Award, sponsored by Major League Baseball and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.

An All-ACC First Team outfielder, Ray is hitting .320 overall with 15 home runs, 58 RBI and 39 stolen bases while starting all 59 games this season. Ray, who ranks fourth in the nation in stolen bases and is among the top 30 in home runs, also has 16 doubles, 54 runs scored and 33 walks as the everyday leadoff hitter for the ACC Atlantic Division champion Cardinals (47-12).

Selected as an All-ACC First Team honoree as both a starting pitcher and utility player, McKay has an 11-3 record on the mound with a 2.25 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 15 starts and 96.0 innings pitched. Selected as a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award for the second consecutive season, McKay has a .330 batting average with four home runs, 37 RBI and 19 doubles in 56 starts as a hitter.

GoldenSpikesAward.com – powered by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) – is once again the online home of the award. The website features content devoted exclusively to the Golden Spikes Award, including news, voting history, past winner photo galleries, and photographs and biographical information for the 2016 semifinalists. Fans can follow online at GoldenSpikesAward.com as the list of 25 players is narrowed to a group of finalists on Wednesday, June 13.

The Southeastern Conference leads 12 different conferences represented on the list with seven semifinalists, followed closely by the Atlantic Coast Conference with six. The PAC 12 and Southern conferences both host a pair of semifinalists while the Big 12, Big East, Colonial Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, Southland and West Coast conferences each have one athlete on the list.

USA Baseball officials will announce the finalists for the 2016 Golden Spikes Award on Monday, June 13. To select the finalists, the list of semifinalists is sent to a voting body consisting of past Golden Spikes Award winners, past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that closely follow the amateur game, select professional baseball personnel, and select current USA Baseball staff, representing a group of more than 200 voters in total.

Fan voting will once again be part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2016. This announcement officially marks the opening of voting for amateur baseball fans from across the country on GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of the selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of names. Voting will be open until Wednesday, June 8.

The 2016 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Thursday, June 30, 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.