Bring back the Funk

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville pitcher Kyle Funkhouser will return to the Cardinals for his senior season in 2016 after being selected in the first round of last month’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Funkhouser became the highest draft selection in program history on June 8 when the Los Angeles Dodgers chose him 35th overall. The 6-3, 225-pounder announced his decision via Twitter on Friday afternoon, more than three hours prior to the 5 p.m., ET deadline for MLB teams to sign 2015 draft picks.

Funkhouser ranks second in program history in career wins with his 26-9 collegiate record overall, 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.

During Louisville's 2014 College World Series season, Funkhouser set a school record for single season wins and led the nation in victories with a 13-3 mark overall to go with a 1.94 ERA and 122 strikeouts (third most at Louisville) in 120.1 innings pitched (second most at Louisville).

Funkhouser was among four Louisville players selected in the 2015 MLB Draft. Senior infielder Sutton Whiting went in the 24th round by the Chicago Cubs, while sophomore lefty Josh Rogers, selected in the 11th round by the New York Yankees, and sophomore lefty Robert Strader, tabbed in the 12th round by the Baltimore Orioles, chose to sign professional contracts.

In its inaugural season in the ACC in 2015, Louisville set a conference record for league wins in a single season finishing with a 25-5 mark overall to win the Atlantic Division. Chosen as a national seed for the second time in school history, the Cardinals were 47-18 overall and ranked as highly as No. 8 following the season after advancing to their third straight NCAA Super Regional.