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In the last three decades, Louisville has produced the No. 1 picks in the NBA, WNBA and MLS drafts. Now, Brendan McKay may be less than a month away from adding MLB to that list.
As the first multi-year recipient of the John Olerud Player of the Year Award, McKay has already solidified his legacy as one of the best two-way players in the history of college baseball. There’s still no consensus on whether the Golden Spikes Award front-runner will focus on the mound or the field at the next level, but that seems to be a problem no MLB executive is afraid to take on.
The team with the first pick in this year’s draft is the Minnesota Twins. The word from those around the organization in recent weeks had been that they were leaning towards using the pick on Hunter Greene, the 17-year-old phenom from Los Angeles who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated last month.
That sentiment may be shifting.
The #Twins still are undecided but now leaning towards passing on HS pitcher Hunter Greene and taking Louisville 1B Brendan McKay w 1st pick
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 15, 2017
McKay enters this final week of the college baseball regular season with an 8-3 record on the hill, and a sparkling 1.80 ERA. He has struck out 110 hitters to just 23 walks. At the plate, McKay ranks second on the team with a .372 average, and is tied for the team lead in home runs with 15.
It’s already been a big year for individual accomplishments by Louisville athletes. McKay figures to add significantly to that over the next four weeks.
Again, enjoy him while you can.