Junior lefthanded pitcher Drew Harrington led the way going 80th overall in the third round to the Atlanta Braves, while redshirt sophomore infielder Blake Tiberi went in the third round as the 100th selection by the New York Mets. Senior righthanded pitcher Kyle Funkhouser became seventh Louisville player chosen in this year's MLB Draft going in the fourth round to the Detroit Tigers as the 115th pick overall.
Overall, the first 10 rounds of the 40-round MLB
Draft were completed Thursday and Friday. The seven draft selections
for the Cardinals through the first two days was bested only by the
eight picks for Florida and Texas A&M. Louisville has produced at
least seven MLB Draft selections in three of the last four seasons
(2013, 2014, 2016), while the school record total is 10 drafted
players in 2010.
Chosen as the 2016 ACC Pitcher of the Year,
Harrington enters this weekend's NCAA Super Regional with a 12-2
record, 2.08 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 16 starts and 103.2 innings
pitched this season. An All-American selection, the Elizabethtown,
Kentucky native has limited opponents to two or fewer earned runs in
13 of his 16 outings. In his 10 ACC starts, Harrington was 8-0 with a
1.33 ERA.
An All-ACC Third Team honoree, Tiberi has a .331
batting average with nine home runs, 48 RBI, 17 doubles and 45 runs
scored while starting all 62 games this season. A native of Taylor
Mill, Kentucky, Tiberi is second on the team with 27 multiple-hit
games and 14-multiple RBI performances this season.
Funkhouser
ranks as Louisville's career leader in wins (35), strikeouts (376),
innings pitched (380.2) and starts (56) and is a 2016 graduate with a
degree in marketing. A native of Oak Forest, Illinois, Funkhouser is
a two-time All-American, a former Louisville Slugger Freshman
All-American and holds the school record for single season wins with
13 in 2014. This season, Funkhouser has won his last six starts and
carries a 9-3 record into tomorrow's NCAA Super Regional.
On
Thursday, the Cardinals set a school record with three first round
selections and four players in the first 62 picks overall. Junior
outfielder Corey Ray became the highest draft selection in program
history going fifth overall to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was joined
in the first round by junior pitcher Zack Burdi, who went 26th to the
Chicago White Sox, and junior catcher Will Smith, taken 32nd overall
by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Junior infielder Nick Solak was the
fourth Louisville player chosen after the New York Yankees made him
the 62nd pick in the second round.
The 2016 MLB Draft
concludes Saturday with rounds 11-40. The No.2 national seeded
Cardinals (50-12) open the 2016 NCAA Louisville Super Regional
against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 11:00 am CT at Jim Patterson
Stadium and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
