Louisville Baseball 2026 Season Preview

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - We have just a few days left in the month of January, and that means only one thing: a new season of college baseball is just around the corner.

For the Louisville baseball program they are coming off of a bounce-back season that re-established themselves as a powerhouse in the sport. After previously missing out on the NCAA Tournament entirely three times in a four year span, the Cardinals put together a 42-25 campaign last season. This culminated not only in getting back to the Big Dance, but reaching the College World Series for the sixth time in program, while also matching their best finish in Omaha with a top-four appearance.

Head coach Dan McDonnell will be entering his 20th season with the program, sporting an overall record of 793-358-1. The Cardinals also return pitching coach Roger Williams, who has been with McDonnell at 3rd & Central since day one, as well as hitting coach Eric Snider and assistant coach Adam Vrable, both of whom are entering their 12th seasons at Louisville.

The first pitch of the 2026 season is set for Friday, Feb. 13 at 3:00 p.m. EST, when Louisville hosts Michigan State at Jim Patterson Stadium for a weekend series.

Offseason Primer

Louisville is no stranger to losing talent year in and year out due to the amount of high level ball players they produce on a regular basis, and this offseason was no exception.

When it comes to the MLB Draft, the Cardinals wound up losing six players to the big leagues. Right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes was the headliner, as he went 29th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks, marking Louisville's first first round pick since Henry Davis went No. 1 overall in 2021.

Third baseman Jake Munroe was selected in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Angels, while catcher Matt Klein went to the Colorado Rockies in the sixth round on day two of the draft. Day three saw right-handed pitcher Tucker Biven get picked up in the 13th round by the Washington Nationals, outfielder Eddie King Jr. was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 16th round, then the New York Yankees selected left-handed pitcher Justin West in the 18th round.

Louisville also lost some players to the transfer portal. Most notably, infielder Nate Earley and outfielder Michael Lippe were among the seven Cards to continue their collegiate careers elsewhere.

But as always, McDonnell and the Cardinals did a good job at replacing the talent that departed the program. The Cardinals lost just one high school signee to the MLB Draft, right-handed pitcher Peter Kussow, and brought in the No. 37 class in the 2025 cycle according to Perfect Game. This might be a lower-ranked class than we have been accustomed too, but it does include five top-500 prospects, and two in the top-300.

Additionally, McDonnell - who at one point in his career was not someone who utilized the transfer portal - did bring in a handful of players in this manner. Between the regular transfer portal and the more traditional JUCO route, seven players wound up joining the Cards via the portal this offseason.

Between the amount of contributors returning and the talent coming into the program, Louisville has been generating the preseason hype that we have been accustomed to under McDonnell.

The Cardinals are ranked in all of the major college baseball preseason polls released up to this point, peaking as high as No. 8 in the country. They also have three D1Baseball preseason All-Americans, and seven players named to Perfect Game's Top 100 Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.

As far as the schedule goes, it's another hefty one. It includes 22 games against 2025 NCAA Tournament teams, as well as 34 games at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The non-conference portion is highlighted by the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, where Louisville will face Nebraska, Michigan and Auburn at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. There's also the annual home-and-home series with Kentucky, the Battle for the Barrel vs. Vanderbilt and a late season matchup with Indiana. In ACC play, the Cardinals host Clemson, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford and Virginia; while traveling to Cal, Duke, Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Now that we're caught up, time to get into the actual team.

Position Players

Louisville's prowess at the plate last season might have taken a step back once the NCAA Tournament started, but a prolific offense was the primary reason why they got back to the Big Dance in the first place. Their .305 team batting average ranked 32nd in Division I, while their 677 total hits were the third-most. The Cardinals were also chaos creators on the base paths, collecting the sixth-most stolen bases in the nation with 162. They also did a good job in the power hitting department with a team slugging percentage (.497) that ranked 42nd nationally.

On one hand, Louisville brings back just four of their eight qualified hitters (2 PA/G, 75 percent of games played) from last season, including their top two hitters by OPS in King and Munroe. But on the other hand, you'd be hard pressed to find a better returning core of position players in all of college baseball than what Louisville has.

Just like the last couple seasons, the strongest area of the field for the Cardinals is in the outfield. It's an area of the field bolstered by two preseason All-Americans plus an All-Conference transfer.

After breaking out as a true freshman in 2024, Zion Rose (.310, 13 HR, 67 RBI, 31 SB) is coming off of a standout sophomore campaign, and enters the 2026 season as one of the top offensive players in the sport. While he didn't hit for average quite as well as he did as a freshman, Rose still has great contact hitting skills, a good overall approach at the plate, and was able to take a massive step forward as a power hitter thanks to his premier bat speed. Not to mention that, with his elite athleticism, he played a big role in Louisville's base-stealing efforts. His defense out in left field is still touch-and-go at times, but he has made strides here and has produced the occasional web gem. He's also Louisville's emergency catcher.

But what's better than having one elite outfielder? How about two! Lucas Moore (.341, 5 HR, 49 RBI, 53 SB) joins Rose as a member of the 2025 USA Collegiate National Team and as a preseason 2026 All-American, and for good reason. It's not hyperbole to say that Moore is one of the fastest players in the sport, considering his 53 stolen bases led all of D1. His speed also translates extremely well out in center field, as one would expect. On top of that, he does a phenomenal job as a table settler for the offense at the top of the lineup. Despite a big time postseason slump, he's still Louisville's top returner by batting average, and drew more walks (34) than strikeouts (29).

Louisville's final projected starter in the outfield might not have All-American acumen, but that's not to say he's not a productive hitter. Ben Slanker (.302, 21 HR, 69 RBI) transferred in from Ohio, where he earned First-Team All-MAC honors as one of the nation's top power hitters last season. He not only had the fourth-most home runs per game (0.42) and the 15th-most RBI per game (1.38), but also showed good feel for the zone with 41 walks - albeit with 38 K's. Time will tell how the lefty fairs in the ACC, but he seemed to be adjusting well in the fall.

As far as bench options in the outfield goes, Louisville doesn't have the depth that they had last season, but there is long term potential.

Kyle Campbell and Griffin Crain are two sophomores who didn't see any playing time as true freshmen last season, although the latter looked good in the fall and could push for playing time - especially out in right field. Chase Porter is a true freshman, but is their-highest ranked prospect to make it to campus (No. 267 in 2025 cycle by Perfect Game). This group has a lot of tools to work with, they'll just need some refining.

Moving to the infield, while this area of the diamond doesn't have the star power that the outfield does, Louisville is still very well off here. The Cardinals' group of infielders collectively bring great power, on-base capability, experience, and upside.

McDonnell has regularly produced high-impact true freshman, and last season, it was Tague Davis' (.283, 18 HR, 52 RBI) turn, taking home Freshman All-American honors. The lefty not only led the Cardinals in home runs, he broke Chris Dominguez' program record for home runs as a freshman. There's absolutely zero question that Davis has the most raw power on the team, and perhaps even the conference as well as underrated defense at first base. He's got good patience, as illustrated by his 35 walks, but he sometimes got a little too patient. His bat-to-ball skills certainly need some work, and when combined with the aforementioned, it produced a whopping 61 strikeouts. Work on the approach some, and Davis has easy All-American potential.

On the complete opposite of the hitting spectrum, we have Alex Alicea (.307, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 34 SB). He might not have the name recognition that Davis, Moore and Rose do, but make no mistake - he serves as the spark for the Cardinals' offense. The switch hitting shortstop was UofL's leadoff hitter last season, and figured to be the same this year, considering his .444 on base percentage leads all returners. He's a plus-contact hitter from both sides of the plate, and brings very good speed to the mix, which helped him be a significant factor in the base stealing operation. It also helps that he's one of Louisville better defenders.

Right next to Alicea at third base, here is where we will likely see Bayram Hot (.326, 3 HR, 22 RBI) in the field. The former Marist transfer played mainly in the middle of the infield last season, but is making the transition back to his more natural position at the hot corner, where he has a lively arm. Hot played in roughly half of Louisville's games last season, and showed that he can indeed hit for both contact and power at this level. In a more consistent and comfortable role, he could be someone who finds themselves in the mix for All-ACC honors at the end of the season.

Rounding out the starting infielders at second base, here is where we have Louisville's top candidate for breakout true freshman in Kade Elam. Ranked as the No. 436 prospect in the country coming out of high school, the Corbin County product and 2025 Kentucky Mr. Baseball looked extremely impressive in fall ball. He's a plus-contact hitter with a patient approach, and he has great athletic intangibles that translate well on the base paths and in the field.

Like the outfield, Louisville's infield depth isn't super great, but there are a few players that are sure to get included in the mix on a regular basis.

If Elam doesn't wind up as Louisville's starter at second base, Georgia Southern transfer A.J. Martin (.316, 12 HR, 53 RBI, 13 SB) will likely be the one to replace him there. He's contact hitter first, but has improved his power hitting in recent years, and could be a go-to pinch hitter with how well he moves. He's got the most experience as second base by far, but can plat short when needed.

Jax Hisle (.274, 13 HR, 40 HR), a JUCO transfer who joins the Cardinals via Parkland College, will likely be Louisville's designated hitter. The switch hitter has some serious pop in his bat, although his overall approach does need some work after striking out 50 times last year. While he has position versatility, as he can play multiple spots in the infield plus the outfield, his actual defense needs work after committing 13 errors last season. He can play the infield in a pinch, but will likely begin the season as their DH.

Louisville's likely backup first baseman will be true freshman Kaden Schoenly, who was the No. 452 prospect in the Class of 2025 coming out of high school. He's got both a game and a build that is similar to Tague Davis, so on days where the aforementioned get some appearance on the mound, look for the left-hander to slide into the lineup at first.

So now that leaves us with catcher. With Matt Klein's illustrious college career coming to an end, JUCO transfer Jimmy Nugent (.346, 12 HR, 41 RBI) will take over behind the backstop. While his hitting for average in the Northwoods League (.263 in two seasons) leaves some to be desired, he still brings to the table some good power, and is a lot more mobile for a catcher than you'd expect. Add in some solid defensive chops, and he'll fit right in with his new team.

Of course, McDonnell is known for playing multiple catchers over the course of a season, so look for George Baker (.111, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Collin Mowry (.162, 5 RBI) to get their fair share of reps in 2026. Mowry was Louisville's highest-ranked signee in the Class of 2024 and is the better hitter, but Baker is the better defensive options between the two. There's also true freshman Andrew Freeman, but he won't likely get in the mix.

When it comes their position players, Louisville's is in fantastic shape. They project to be an elite power hitting team, while also doing a great job of hitting for contact and getting on base overall, as well as potentially repeating as the sport's best base stealing squad. Depth is a slight concern, but as far as the starting lineup goes, the Cardinals have weapons from top to bottom.

There is one question mark, and that's their actual play in the field. Louisville wasn't nearly as bad defensively as they were in 2024, but they still posted a team fielding percentage of .972 in 2025, which was 12th in the ACC and 115th in the nation. Hitting in the NCAA Tournament also took a spectacular nosedive, but that's something to worry about once the postseason actually gets here.

Pitching Staff

Last year, Louisville was undoubtedly a team that was carried by their offensive capabilities, while their efforts from the mound left some to be desired - at least during the regular season. Prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals posted a team ERA of 5.67, which ranked 116th in Division I.

But once the Big Dance started, Louisville's pitching took a massive step forward, and it was arguably the reason why they were able to make a return to the College World Series. In the Regional and Super Regional rounds, Louisville had a team ERA of just 2.04. Even after getting touched up a bit in Omaha, UofL still finished with a 4.07 ERA in the NCAA Tournament - which was sixth best of the 64 teams.

While guys like Patrick Forbes and Tucker Biven have moved on, there is still a fantastic amount of overall continuity with the Cardinals' pitching staff. Of the 561.0 innings pitched by Louisville players last year, 351.2 of them - or 62.7 percent - are back for the 2026 season. A few newcomers via the transfer portal or high school route are expected to have meaningful roles this season, but this will be a staff that is led primarily by returners.

The fight for the Friday night starter in the weekend rotation is going to be a stout one, and there are three primary candidates for the job. Two of them are top returners from last season in left-hander Ethan Eberle and right-hander Peter Michael.

Eberle (4.65 ERA, 62.0 IP, 59 K, 25 BB) began the 2025 season in the bullpen, but the then-freshman made the transition to weekend starter by the month of April. There was a little bit of an adjustment period over his first few starts, but got much more comfortable as the season went on, posting an ERA of 3.78 from May onwards.

With Michael (4.83 ERA, 50.1 IP, 52 K, 37 BB), he took a massive step forward after transferring in from Northwestern the previous offseason, where he had a 15.68 ERA in 12 appearances during the 2024 season. He missed about a month's worth of time late in the 2025 season due to injury, but bounced back by looking very steady in the fall.

That being said, Louisville's presumed frontrunner for the Friday night starting gig is actually a newcomer in Kent State transfer Jake Bean (4.20 ERA, 75.0 IP, 72 K, 22 BB). While the righty looked just fine in the Cape Cod League this past summer, he has a very good fastball/slider/curveball repertoire that boded extremely well in fall ball.

As for who gets the midweek spot in the starting rotation, that'll likely come down to Wyatt Danilowicz vs. T.J. Schlageter.

Danilowicz (2.70 ERA, 33.1 IP, 52 K, 25 BB) was a go-to reliever last season, but is getting his chance to earn a starting spot considering he sports the second-best ERA out of all of Louisville's returning pitchers. He's got a good four-pitch repertoire that would certainly work as a starter, but he will more than likely be the Cardinals' closer for next season considering he gave up earned runs in just six of his 28 appearance last season.

With Schlageter (5.04 ERA, 30.1 IP, 17 K, 16 BB), he already has starting experience considering six of his 17 appearances were starts. Sure, his 2025 campaign wasn't super impressive, but his summer in the Cape Cod League - where he posted a 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings - certainly was.

Now lets move on to the bullpen. Considering Louisville relied so much on younger relief pitchers last season, there were times where the bullpen cost them games. But this part of the pitching staff got incredibly strong towards the end of the season, and it could be a strength heading into the new season.

With Danilowicz likely going to be Louisville's closer this year, another option to shut the door will be Jake Schweitzer (2.34 ERA, 42.1 IP, 23 K, 19). The southpaw led the Cardinals in both ERA and WHIP (1.18) last season, and could be an option for middle inning work as well. Regardless of his exact role in the pen, he'll be one of Louisville's top relievers.

Beyond Danilowicz and Schweitzer is a handful of players who are looking to either take steps forward and build on momentum as younger pitchers, or looking to rebound following slightly disappointing 2025 campaign.

Jack Brown (6.59 ERA, 42.1 IP, 27 K, 27 BB) had some ups and downs as a true freshman, as are expected considering he tossed the seventh-most innings on the team last season. But the right-hander did take step forward in the summer, posting a 5.56 ERA in 11.1 innings up in the Cape Cod League.

The same can be said with Casen Murphy (8.64 ERA, 16.2 IP, 12 K, 12 BB), who also had some struggles as a true freshman. But he looked extraordinary this past summer in the New England CBL (2.01 ERA in 22.1 IP) and parlayed that into a strong fall, so he is someone to watch for in terms of breakout potential in 2026.

Ty Starke (8.35 ERA, 18.1 IP, 21 K, 14 BB) and Colton Hartman (11.65 ERA, 17.0 IP, 20 K, 17 BB) are two left-handers who showed promise as true freshman, but sharp regression during their sophomore campaigns. Starke had a 3.72 ERA in 2024 while Hartman posted a 5.90, and both ran into the sophomore slump this past season.

However, both players looked much improved this past summer in the Cape Cod League. Starke posted a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings, while Hartman had a 6.75 ERA in 8.0 innings. It's a small sample size, but returns to form could be in order here for the two.

Aaron England, Jake Gregor and Brandon Shannon could also be some relievers to watch for this season. The left-handed England (8.31 ERA, IP, 4.1 IP, 4 K, 4 BB) and right-handed Gregor (7.04 IP, 7.2 IP, 4 K, 5 BB) didn't show a ton as true freshmen last season, but you guessed it, both looked much better this past summer. As for Shannon, he's the highest-ranked pitcher in Louisville's 2025 recruiting class, coming in as the No. 84 right-handed pitcher and No. 285 overall prospect in the nation.

There are two wild-cards in the bullpen in Tague Davis and Parkers Detmers.

We know what Davis (12.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 2 K, 7 BB) can bring to the table as a hitter, but he was a two-way prospect coming out of high school. He got limited work on the mound last season, but could be a factor in the bullpen based on how he looked in the fall.

With Detmers (3.94 ERA, 16.0 IP, 15 K, 4 BB), the younger brother of Louisville legend Reid Detmers, he began last season in the starting rotation. However, the injury bug caught up to him to the point where he needed Tommy John surgery. It's highly unlikely that he will return for the 2026 season, but it's not completely off the table.

Bottom Line

After a period of some relative instability, the Louisville baseball program seems to be back on track. Not only were they able to reset their lofty standard and get back to the College World Series, their roster wasn't completely obliterated, making their preseason hype train more than justified.

Heading into year 20 under McDonnell, Louisville sports an upper level and well-balanced roster. Offensively, they can hit for power and steal bases with the best of them, as well as hit for contact and get on base at a high level too. They boast both star power here, and a complete lineup overall - although it's not quite as deep as we normally expect.

The mound might not have the star power that the plate does, but Louisville's has a good collection of pitchers on their hands. They have a solid mix of experience, production and potential, and for the most part, is a staff that already is in a great spot from a chemistry standpoint. You need a few guys to keep making progress, but otherwise, this is probably the best pitching team UofL has had post-COVID.

On paper, this has the makings of a team that is not only among one of the best in the ACC - which is a very deep baseball conference - but in the nation. Goals of reaching the College World Series for a seventh time, and perhaps competing for their first national championship, are more than justified.

Projected Starters

Position Players:

CF Lucas Moore
SS Alex Alicea
LF Zion Rose
1B Tague Davis
RF Ben Slanker
3B Bayram Hot
C Jimmy Nugent
2B Kade Elam
DH Jax Hisle

Pitching Rotation:

RHP Jake Bean
LHP Ethan Eberle
RHP Peter Michael
LHP T.J. Schlageter

Offseason Primer

Position Players

Pitching Staff

Bottom Line

Projected Starters

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