Awards & Honors:
*2012 Academic All-ACC Team
*2011 Academic All-ACC Team
*2011 ACC Academic Honor Roll
*2010 ACC Academic Honor Roll
MLB Draft History:
* Drafted in the Supplemental First Round by the Minnesota Twins in 2012 (42nd pick overall) and signed with the Twins. Bard was orginially drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 16th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, but elected to enroll at Georgia Tech
Scouting Report:
A polished pitcher with a moving fastball and a good break … Enters 2012 as one of the leading closers in the ACC… Named to the preseason watch list for the 2012 Stopper of the Year Award.
2012
Academic All-ACC selection… Began his junior season on the preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award, presented annualy to the best closer in college baseball.. Was putting up fantastic numbers before suffering an arm injury and missing the second half of the year… Made 11 appearances and three starts before the injury, with 0.99 ERA, 26 strikeouts and six walks in 27 1/3 innings… Was 1-0 with a pair of saves… Finished his career with a 3.47 ERA, a 3-2 record and 12 saves in 55 appearances (103 2/3 innings)… When he left, his career ERA ranked 20th all-time at Tech, and his 12 saves ranked tied for ninth.
2011
Academic All-ACC selection… Made 25 appearances (one start), posting a 2.72 ERA with eight saves while serving as Tech’s closer … Carried a 2-2 record with 46 strikeouts and 19 walks in 49.2 innings … His eight saves led the team and were the fifth-most in the ACC … Set career-highs in saves, wins, ERA, innings and strikeouts … Made one start, coming against Georgia Southern on Feb. 15 … Yielded just four runs (three earned) while recording 19 strikeouts in his final nine relief appearances of the season (21.0 IP) … Allowed just four of his 17 inherited runners to advance on the season … Gave Tech much needed relief by recording two outs each against Kent State (2/19) and St. John’s (2/27) … In back-to-back appearances against Kennesaw State and Maryland, pitched a total of 5.0 innings and allowed just two hits while picking up his first save of the year against the Owls (3/8) … Fanned seven batters through 5.2 IP in games at Georgia (3/22), at Miami (3/25-27) and Mercer (3/29) … Earned his fourth save of the season, holding No. 1 Virginia to one run on one hit in 1.2 innings of relief (4/10) in the series finale … Picked up the save in 1.0 inning of relief in Tech’s 5-3 win over Georgia (4/12) … Tossed a career-long 5.0 innings in relief to pick up the win in a 12- inning victory at Wake Forest (4/17) … Recorded a save with an inning of work against Boston College (4/24) … Worked two scoreless innings of relief in two appearances against Illinois-Chicago (5/7 and 5/9) … Recorded his seventh save of the season in one shutout inning of relief against No. 9 UNC (5/16) … Combined with Buck Farmer to hold the Tar Heels scoreless for the first and only time on the season … Picked up his eighth save of the year, striking out five of the seven batters faced against Virginia Tech (5/21) … Tossed a solid 4.2 shutout innings of relief, yielding just three hits while fanning five in Tech’s 15-inning win over NC State at the ACC Championships (5/26) … Allowed just one run (unearned) and two hits in 4.1 innings of relief against Mississippi State in the NCAA Atlanta Regional final (6/5).
2010
Made 19 appearances on the season (one start) … Recorded two saves … Had 25 strikeouts in 26.2 innings … Didn’t allow any of his seven inherited base runners to score the entire year … Struck out two batters in one inning of relief, making his first career appearance, in the second game of the series against Missouri State (2/20) … Threw 3.0 shutout innings of relief at Georgia Southern (2/24), not allowing a single hit while recording the first save of his career … Pitched one inning of relief, retiring all three batters faced on just nine pitches thrown against Xavier (2/27) … Combined with Brandon Cumpton and Clay Dalton for the shutout … Struck out three in 1.0 inning against Rutgers (3/6) … Pitched 2.0 innings of relief against No. 17 North Carolina, not allowing a hit while striking out one (3/26-27) … Made his first career start, picking up a no-decision after going 3.0 limited innings against Kennesaw State (3/31) … Allowed two runs on just one hit, striking out five against the Owls … Recorded his second save of the season in 1.1 innings of relief against No. 20 Virginia Tech (4/25) … Had a solid outing against NC State (5/1), tossing two no-hit innings while striking out two batters … Worked an inning at the ACC Tournament against Virginia Tech (5/27), retiring all three batters faced.
High School
A three-sport standout at Charlotte Christian School as a four-year letterwinner in baseball and football, and a two-year letterwinner in basketball for coach Shan Brown … Two-year captain of baseball coach Gren Simmons … Earned Louisville Slugger and National Christian School Athletic Association All-America honors as a senior … Named North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Player of the Year and Charlotte Weekly Player of the Year in 2009 after posting a perfect 10-0 record with 90 strikeouts and a 0.37 ERA … Also hit .336 with four home runs at the plate … Team posted a 30-3 record and finished the season ranked No. 13 in the nation (Baseball America) … The three-time All-State and All-Conference performer helped his high school win two state championships (2007 and 2009) … A highly-touted quarterback in high school, threw for 45 career touchdowns and ran for another 13 while leading his team to the 2009 state title … Two-time Charlotte Observer Player of the Week … Offensive MVP in 2008 and 2009.
Personal
Full name is Luke Francis Bard … Born Nov. 13, 1990 … Son of Paul and Kathy Bard … Has two older brothers … Oldest, Daniel, was a standout pitcher at North Carolina and is currently a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox … Brother Jared pitched at the University of Richmond … Father played at Tufts University and in the Orioles and Dodgers organizations … Magna Cum Laude all four years of high school … Majoring in Management.
