Louisville’s McKay preseason National Player of the Year; UK’s White earns All-America nod
Three players from Kentucky schools received All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Monday.
University of Louisville junior pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay was named preseason National Player of the Year and was selected to the First Team.
University of Kentucky junior first baseman Evan White was named to the Second Team.
Louisville junior pitcher Kade McClure earned Third Team honors.
McKay, from Darlington, Pa., was selected as the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America honors in each of his first two collegiate seasons. In 2016, McKay had a 12-4 record with a 2.30 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 17 starts on the mound, while hitting .333 with six home runs, 19 doubles and 41 RBI at the plate. The two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team selection also had a stellar summer hitting .326 with five RBI in 13 starts as a hitter and registering a 2-1 record with a 1.35 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings on the mound for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
White, from Gahanna, Ohio, became just the 10th Wildcat since 1999 to earn preseason All-America recognition of any kind.
White was an All-Southeastern Conference Second Team selection after last season. He was also named to the All-SEC Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
In 2016, White led Kentucky in batting average (.376), at bats (226), hits (85), runs (44), doubles (15), triples (3), RBI (40), total bases (121) and stolen bases (10).
White also spent the summer playing for the USA Collegiate National Team, which traveled to Cuba, Japan and Taiwan. He was the team’s primary first baseman, starting 15 of 19 games and hitting .250 with eight runs scored.
McClure, from Mentor, Ohio, went 12-0 with a 2.54 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 13 starts and 15 total appearances last season for U of L.
2017 Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America Teams
FIRST TEAM
RHP Andrew Beckwith (Coastal Carolina)
RHP Alex Faedo (Florida)
RHP Alex Lange (LSU)
RHP Kyle Wright (Vanderbilt)
RHP Brian Howard (Texas Christian)
Relief Sam Donko (Virginia Commonwealth)
Relief Glenn Otto (Rice)
C Nick Feight (UNC-Wilmington)
1B Dylan Busby (Florida State)
2B Collin Thacker (Gardner-Webb)
3B Carl Stajduhar (New Mexico)
SS Taylor Walls (Florida State)
OF Seth Beer (Clemson)
OF Jeren Kendall (Vanderbilt)
OF Kevin Strohschein (Tennessee Tech)
DH Luken Baker (Texas Christian)
UT Brendan McKay (Louisville)
SECOND TEAM
RHP Darren McCaughan (Long Beach State)
LHP Eli Kraus (Kent State)
RHP Bryce Fehmel (Oregon State)
LHP Tyler Wilson (Rhode Island)
RHP James Karinchak (Bryant)
LHP Pat Krall (Clemson)
LHP Seth Romero (Houston)
RHP Brady Puckett (Lipscomb)
RHP Clarke Schmidt (South Carolina)
RHP Colton Eastman (Cal Sate-Fullerton)
RHP Corbin Burnes (St. Mary’s)
RHP J.B. Bukauskas (North Carolina)
LHP Michael Mediavilla (Miami, Fla.)
RHP Jesse Lepore (Miami, Fla.)
RHP Tyler Buffett (Oklahoma St.)
Relief Dylan Moore (Louisiana-Lafayette)
Relief Durbin Feltman (Texas Christian)
Relief Troy Montemayor (Baylor)
C Evan Skoug (Texas Christian)
C Hagen Owenby (East Tennessee State)
C J.J. Schwarz (Florida)
1B Evan White (Kentucky)
1B Pavin Smith (Virginia)
2B Clayton Daniel (Jacksonville State)
3B Jake Burger (Missouri State)
SS Kramer Robertson (LSU)
OF Keston Hiura (Cal-Irvine)
OF Tyler Jones (Air Force)
OF Stuart Fairchild (Wake Forest)
UT Adam Haseley (Virginia)
THIRD TEAM
RHP Tanner Houck (Missouri)
RHP Jayson Rose (Utah)
RHP Tristan Beck (Stanford)
RHP Davis Martin (Texas Tech.)
RHP B.J. Butler (Ball State)
LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas (Fresno State)
RHP Alex Cunningham (Coastal Carolina)
RHP Brigham Hill (Texas A&M)
RHP Kade McClure (Louisville)
LHP Evan Krucznski (East Carolina)
Relief Kyle Nelson (Cal-Santa Barbara)
Relief Josh Reagan (South Carolina)
Relief Cameron Ragsdale (Florida Atlantic)
Relief Seth Elledge (Dallas Baptist)
C Deon Stafford, Jr. (St. Joseph’s)
C Daulton Varsho (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
1B Joe Davis (Houston)
1B Ross Haffey (Miami, Ohio)
1B Colton Shaver (Brigham Young)
1B K.J. Harrison (Oregon State)
2B Brett Netzer (Charlotte)
2B Trey Hair (Evansville)
2B Cullen Large (William & Mary)
3B Jeffrey Bohling (Gonzaga)
3B Elliott Barzilli (Texas Christian)
3B Colby Bortles (Mississippi)
SS Clay Fisher (Cal-Santa Barbara)
SS Dalton Guthrie (Florida)
SS John Ruiz (Miami, Fla.)
OF Kel Johnson (Georgia Tech.)
OF Jordan Glover (Delaware)
OF Brent Rooker (Mississippi State)
OF Bryson Bowman (Western Carolina)
UT Luis Gonzalez (New Mexico)
This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Louisville’s McKay preseason National Player of the Year; UK’s White earns All-America nod."