Kentucky junior third baseman JaVon Shelby has been tabbed third-team preseason All-America by Louisville Slugger, it was announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Shelby marks the fourth consecutive season UK has had a preseason All-America selection. In 2014, righty Kyle Cody, a senior in 2015, was tabbed a preseason All-American by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
A native of Lexington, Ky., Shelby is coming off a dynamic 2015 season as UK’s second baseman, earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed hitter, finished with a .312 average (63-for-202) with nine homers and 44 RBI as a sophomore in 2015.
Shelby had a .525 slugging percentage and ranked ninth in the SEC with a .442 on-base percentage. Defensively, Shelby led all SEC second baseman for the second consecutive year in assists. As a freshman in 2014, Shelby earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors, hitting .250 with four homers and 21 RBI.
JaVon comes from a baseball family that includes his father John T., an 11-year MLB veteran and the first-base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, and his brother John, who belted 33 homers and drive in 131 runs during 2004-06 for the Wildcats.
John earned All-SEC honors in 2006 after leading UK from a last-place finish in 2005 to the first SEC Championship in school history. Combined, the Shelby family has hit 46 home runs for the Kentucky program, driving in 196 runs.
The youngest of the Shelby brothers, slugging outfielder Jaren, signed his National Letter of Intent with Kentucky in November and is regarded as one of the top 50 high school players available for the 2016 MLB Draft.
Louisville’s Burdi, Funkhouser named preseason All-Americans
Junior pitcher Zack Burdi, senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay and junior outfielder Corey Ray were named Tuesday as First Team Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball newspaper while McKay was projected as the national player of the year by the publication.
Louisville, ranked No. 2 in Monday’s Collegiate Baseball newspaper preseason poll, led all schools with its four first team selections. Each of the four Cardinals received All-American accolades last season.
Last season, McKay was chosen as the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and was named national Freshman of the Year by Baseball America, D1Baseball, Collegiate Baseball newspaper and Perfect Game. He was also tabbed as a First Team All-American by Baseball America, D1Baseball, the NCBWA and Perfect Game, was named as the ACC Freshman of the Year and was an All-ACC First Team selection.
A member of the USA Collegiate National Team over the summer, McKay had a 9-3 record with a 1.77 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 96.2 innings and 20 appearances on the mound for the Cardinals, including 13 straight weekend starts, while also hitting .308 with four home runs, 34 RBI, 38 walks and 32 runs scored in 58 starts as a hitter.
Burdi (Downers Grove, Ill.) was a Third Team Louisville Slugger All-American and an All-ACC First Team selection last season earning a 6-1 record with nine saves and a 0.92 ERA in 20 relief appearances. A member of the 2015 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, Burdi finished with 30 strikeouts and issued just eight walks in 29.1 innings of work on the mound for Louisville during his sophomore season.
Funkhouser (Oak Forest, Ill.) ranks second in career wins with his 26-9 collegiate record, including an 8-5 mark and 104 strikeouts in 17 starts and 112.1 innings pitched in 2015. An All-America honoree during both his sophomore and junior seasons, Funkhouser has a 2.47 career ERA with the Cardinals and ranks second in career strikeouts with 281, fourth in career starts with 41 and sixth in career innings pitched at 287.1.
In June, Funkhouser was selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft but elected to return to Louisville for his senior season with the Cardinals.
Ray (Chicago, Ill.) earned Second Team All-America honors last season from Baseball America and the NCBWA and was a Third Team All-America selection by D1Baseball after hitting .325 with 11 home runs, 56 RBI, 15 doubles, five triples and 34 stolen bases while starting all 65 games in the outfield.
A standout performer over the summer with the USA Collegiate National Team, Ray was also an All-ACC First Team honoree during his sophomore season in 2015.
From UK, UofL Athletics