Reid Detmers Embraced Brendan McKay Comparisons

When it comes to prospects in any sport looking to make the jump to the professional ranks, it's commonplace for scouts, draft analysts, local & national media and others to make comparisons to other professional athletes based on similar skill sets and other factors.

When those comparisons are made to athletes who are among the best in the sport's history, that's when eyebrows start to raise and heads start to turn.

In Reid Detmers' case, it just happened to start earlier than normal.

After posting a 4-2 record with a 4.85 ERA in eight starts & 18 appearances during his freshman year in 2018, his sophomore campaign had a blazing hot start.

As the newly designated Friday night starter, his first eight starts saw him allow just five earned runs over 54.2 innings pitched, while striking out 86 batters and walking just 10.

Because of the gaudy numbers he was putting up day in and day out, Detmers quickly started getting compared to the greatest Louisville Cardinal ever and arguably one of the greatest players in college baseball history: Brendan McKay.

During McKay's three years at 3rd & Central, he was First-Team All-American & John Olerud Award winner every year, also winning the 2017 Golden Spikes Award & Dick Howser Trophy. All-time in program history, he is first in strikeouts (391), second in wins (32) and third in ERA (2.23). He also hit 28 home runs and drove in 132 RBI over the course of his collegiate career.

"It was easy to compare (Detmers) to Brendan McKay," head coach Dan McDonnell told reporters on Thursday. "I was scared because I mean you're comparing him to arguably the greatest college baseball player ever, and we're mentioning a two month sophomore in the same sentence as Brendan McKay."

As it turns out, those early comparisons were not completely unfounded.

He would go on to break the UofL single-season strikeout record that had previously been set by McKay, finishing the 2019 season with 167 strikeouts. Had the 2020 season not been cancelled, Detmers could have broken the career record as well, one also set by McKay with 391.

"I give Reid credit. He didn't crumble," McDonnell said. "He embraced those comparisons. He wasn't trying to be Brendan McKay, he was trying to be Reid Detmers. But the compliment was that they both have the big breaking ball - big curveball. They both strikeout a lot of guys and they both make pitches when they have to make pitches," McDonnell said.

The comparisons to McKay aren't limited to just the mechanics of their games. Like McKay, Detmers is usually emotionless on the mound and carries a stoic, poised demeanor.

"You don't want to play poker with those two guys," McDonnell quipped. "You don't know what they're thinking, and they're so consistent with their demeanor."

Even further, both have similar leadership styles. After playing with USA Baseball in the summer of 2019, Detmers came back for his junior year with the mindset of helping his teammates, being a better leader and being more vocal - a gift that McDonnell points out that McKay possessed when he was a Cardinal.

"I've told every organization I don't think you can find a player on the team that doesn't like Reid Detmers," McDonnell said. "He's just that likable, that real, that consistent, and so I know the players are so excited to celebrate in this moment with Reid.

Day 1 of the 2020 MLB Draft is scheduled to start on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm EST. Detmers is projected as a top 10 overall pick.

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI

Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI and Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp