National seed for the second time

For the second time in school history, Louisville was tabbed by the NCAA Division I Selection Committee as a national seed for the 2015 NCAA Championship. Named as the No. 7 national seed in 2010, the Cardinals ranked second in the nation in RPI top 50 wins in 2015 with 18 (18-9 record overall) and were 12th overall in the RPI. Louisville entered the NCAA Championship with the 36th-ranked strength of schedule.

Making its debut as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cardinals made history setting a league record for conference wins in a single season with the 25-5 mark. Louisville finished three games clear of Miami (22-8) for the best record in the ACC and was eight games ahead in the Atlantic Division runners-up Florida State and Notre Dame (17-13 each). Along with setting an ACC record for wins, Louisville also set a school record for conference victories in a single season surpassing the previous mark of 21.

Lefty pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay delivered the best rookie season in school history earning national Freshman of the Year honors from multiple organizations as well as being selected as the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year by the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Tabbed as the nation’s top freshman by Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game, McKay was also honored as a First Team All-American by those same three outlets as well as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Led by Brendan McKay’s Freshman of the Year and Two-Way Player of the Year honors, the Cardinals earned numerous national accolades during the 2015 season. McKay was joined by outfielder Corey Ray, relief pitcher Zack Burdi and starting pitcher Kyle Funkhouser as All-Americans, while pitchers Lincoln Henzman and Sean Leland were tabbed as Freshman All-Americans.

• Corey Ray led the Cardinals in numerous offensive categories highlighted by his .325 average, 11 home runs, 56 RBI, 15 doubles, five triples and 34 stolen bases while starting all three outfield positions.

• Seven of Ray’s 11 home runs this season either tied the score or given Louisville a lead.

• Kyle Funkhouser continued his climb up Louisville’s career pitching charts ranking second in wins (26), second in strikeouts (281), fourth in starts (41) and sixth in innings pitched (287.1). He also holds the school record for single season wins with 13 in 2014.

• As the first player in Dan McDonnell’s nine seasons to start on the mound and play virtually every day as a position player/hitter, freshman Brendan McKay was 9-3 with four saves, a 1.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched (20 appearances, 13 starts.). Twice this season he struck out 12 batters in a single game. At the plate, he hit .308 with four home runs, 34 RBI, 32 runs scored and 38 walks in 58 starts as a hitter.

• Nick Solak had his career-best 20-game hitting streak halted on May 2 at Clemson, however he continued to produce for the Cardinals carrying a .324 average with a team-high 15 doubles, three home runs, 40 RBI, 47 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. In 30 ACC games, Solak hit .339 with 10 doubles, 21 RBI and 24 runs scored.

Louisville is one of just nine Division I schools to have hosted five or more NCAA Regionals over the last seven seasons (since 2009). That list features Florida (6), Florida State (6), Cal State Fullerton (5), Louisville (5), LSU (5), South Carolina (5), TCU (5), UCLA (5) and Virginia (5). Additionally, the Cardinals are among just four teams to host in each of the last three seasons (Florida State, LSU and Vanderbilt).

The Louisville baseball program has enjoyed a historic run by remaining in at least one of the major national polls every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such span in school history. On May 4, the Cardinals earned their highest ranking in school history rising to No. 2 in the D1Baseball and NCBWA polls after opening the season as high as No. 7 in the USA Today preseason coaches poll. The coaches ranking marked the third straight season the Cardinals, who closed the season ranked as high No. 8 in the D1Baseball and Perfect Game polls, were positioned in the top 10 in a preseason poll.

The Louisville baseball team received a pair of major conference awards on May 18 as two-way standout Brendan McKay was chosen as the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and Dan McDonnell was named ACC Coach of the Year.

On May 9, the Louisville baseball team clinched the 2015 ACC Atlantic Division championship marking the program’s fourth straight regular season conference championship, including the last three in different leagues. After finishing with an 18-9 record and sharing the 2012 Big East Conference title with St. John’s, the Cardinals stood alone as champions in their final season in the league with a 20-4 mark in 2013. In the program’s only season in the American Athletic Conference in 2014, Louisville finished with a 19-5 league record for sole ownership of the inaugural conference title. Overall, the Cardinals have won six regular season conference championships in nine seasons under the direction of head coach Dan McDonnell.

Lefthanded pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay was named on June 29 as the 2015 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Louisville matched a school record as four different players earned All-America honors in 2015 equaling the total first set during the 2010 season. Freshman Brendan McKay paced the way earning First Team honors from Baseball America, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game as a utility player. Outfielder Corey Ray, who hit .325 with 11 home runs, 56 RBI and 34 stolen bases, received Second Team All-America accolades from Baseball America and NCBWA and Third Team honors from D1Baseball. Pitchers Zack Burdi (6-1 with nine saves, 0.92 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 29.1 innings) and Kyle Funkhouser (8-5 with 3.20 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 112.1 innings) were Third Team selections by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.