READ THE ARTICLE ON WSJ.COM

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – What do University of Evansville pitcher Kyle Freeland, former NBA star Tracy McGrady and the Chicago Cubs have in common?  Today, they were all featured in the Wall Street Journal.
 
While the journal is known more for its reporting in all facets of business in the United States, the newspaper contains a sports page that deals with several stories that are marketable to its clientele.  The Evansville community has rallied around the star and now the rest of the nation is picking up on Freeland's story.  His story was featured online and in Thursday's print edition on page D5.
 
How does this sound for an attention-grabbing headline?  "Meet the New Stephen Strasburg of the NCAA".
 
With a majority of businesspeople who read the publication being sports fans, most of them know the story of Strasburg.  Comparing Freeland to someone of that caliber in this type of publication gives UE great exposure at a national level and puts Freeland's name – and the University of Evansville – in front of the whole nation.
 
Written by Michael Salfino, the article goes into great depth at comparing Freeland's strikeout-to-walk ratio to the college careers of some of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball today.  Freeland enters Friday's start with an unbelievable 87-to-4 ratio.  That comes out to 21.8 strikeouts for every walk thrown. 
 
Salfino compares that to some of today's greats.  Here are just a few of the ratios examined:
Chris Sale – Florida Gulf Coast – 2010 – 10.4
Stephen Strasburg – San Diego State – 2009 – 10.3
Jered Weaver – Long Beach State – 2004 – 10.1
 
Freeland is on an historic run this season that is twice that of several of the best pitchers of this generation.  Sale posted 146 strikeouts against just 14 walks in 2010 while Strasburg's top effort was 195 strikeouts and 19 free passes in 2009.
 
Pegged as a potential top 10 pick in June's MLB Draft, Freeland has two more home starts remaining.  He takes the mound on Friday against Bradley at 6 p.m. with his final start of the season at the Braun slated for May 9 versus Illinois State.