Radford senior pitcher Kyle Zurak became the fourth pitcher in program history to be taken in the first 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as the New York Yankees selected Zurak with the 242nd overall pick in the eighth round of the 2017 draft on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s amazing to be a New York Yankee, the greatest franchise in the world,” Zurak added. “I couldn’t be happier. Let’s start this next journey.”
Zurak is the 20th Highlander selected in the draft’s history and the highest draft pick since Eddie Butler (46th overall) in the 2012 Supplemental First Round. He is the first Highlander selected by the Yankees.
“I am so proud of Kyle and what he did for our program. He is a stud arm and an even better person,” said head coach Joe Raccuia. “I expect him to have a lot of success in professional baseball.”
Zurak put together a coming out party in 2017 as the Highlanders’ closer and occasional starting pitcher. The East Amherst, N.Y. native finished the season with a 4-4 record and nine saves, while turning in a 2.40 ERA in 60.0 innings pitched. Zurak made four starts on the season, getting the ball in the Big South Tournament Championship game and the Louisville Regional elimination game.
The right-hander struck out a career-high 73 batters, yielding only nine extra-base hits on the season. Zurak limited opposing batters to a .225 clip. Appearing in 11 Big South games, Zurak led the league with a 1.03 ERA and five saves. His 73 strikeouts finished sixth best in the league.
Radford wrapped up the 2017 season in the Louisville Regional and Zurak’s season will rank among the best in program history. Finishing his season ranked inside the program’s Top 10 in several categories, Zurak finished third in saves (9), sixth in ERA (2.40) and 10th in strikeouts (73).
In his career, Zurak appeared in 77 games, which goes down as sixth most in program history. Totaling 117 strikeouts in 120.1 career innings, Zurak is now in sole possession of third place of most strikeouts per nine innings with an 8.77 mark. His 3.74 career ERA ranks seventh best among Radford pitchers and his 10 career saves rank eighth.
Entering the 2017 season, Zurak had only thrown 60.1 innings and struck out 44 batters in 52 games.
“I am happy for Kyle and his family,” Raccuia added. “I am excited that Radford baseball continues to develop professional baseball players.”
Zurak was named an All-Big South First Team selection, Big South Tournament MVP and Gregg Olson Award Semifinalist.
— Courtesy of RU Athletics