Who's In, Who's Out and Who's Back for Louisville Baseball in 2027

Taking a look at the roster turnover between the 2026 and 2027 seasons for the Cardinals.

Louisville baseball players vs. Miami in game two of the 2025 Louisville Super Regional. | Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2026 season for the Louisville baseball program is now in the books, and with that, there will come a whirlwind of roster upheaval. Between players that will graduate, those who are transferring in and out, as well as new recruits joining the fold, at times it will be hard to track which players are joining, leaving and staying for another season.

The dust is far from settled when it comes to next season's roster, but we can start to formulate some idea as to what the roster will look like for next year. As of the most recent update, the Cardinals are currently at 51 players.

As we progress through another long offseason, take a look below on who's in, who's out, and who's back for the Cardinals for the 2027 season:

*Each player's class is noted by their 2027 class.*

*This list will be updated if/when additional roster moves are made. Last updated: May 21, 2026 - 6:00 a.m. EST*

Left-Handed Pitchers

Who's In (2): Grant Mehrhoff (Fr.), Bryson Wittmer (Fr.)
Who's Out (1): Wyatt Danilowicz (Grad.)
Who's Back (11): Nicholas Ballard (So.), Ethan Eberle (Jr.), Aaron England (Jr.), Coen Evrard (Jr.), Colton Hartman (Sr.), Anthony Karbowski (So.), Casen Murphy (Jr.), Joe Olson (So.), T.J. Schlageter (Sr.), Kaden Schoenly (So.), Ty Starke (Sr.)
On Roster: 13

Summary: Make no mistake: no matter how you slice it, Louisville has to get better production from their group of lefties - regardless as to who is on the playing and coaching roster. Eberle and Schlageter took a step backwards, while guys like Hartman and Murphy needs to show more improvement. England and Starke were the best of this group, and even they didn't have close to All-ACC type of seasons.

Right-Handed Pitchers

Who's In (4): Will Fox (Fr.), Gabe Smith (Sr., JUCO - John A. Logan), Noah Spalding (Fr.), Parker Van Engelenhoven (Fr.)
Who's Out (2): Eli Hoyt (Grad.), Peter Michael (Grad.)
Who's Back (12): Jake Bean (Sr.), Jack Brown (Jr.), Brandin Crawford (Jr.), Parker Detmers (Sr.), Jake Gregor (Jr.), Bryce Koch (Jr.), Collin Osenbaugh (So.), Jake Schweitzer (Jr.), Brandon Shannon (So.), Zane Stahl (So.), Tanner Thomas (So.), Kian Vorster (Jr.)
On Roster: 16

Summary: As up-and-down as the production from Louisville's lefties were, it was worse with their righties. Bean, Brown, Murphy, and Schweitzer were among the main crop of right-handers this past season, and none of them posted an ERA below 5.40. Young guys like Karbowski, Shannon and Thomas showed some flashes of long term potential, but there was not a single right-hander that was consistent this past season.

Catchers

Who's In (2): Parker Clubb (Fr.), Blake Umberger (Fr.)
Who's Out (0): N/A
Who's Back (4): George Baker (Sr.), Drew Freeman (So.), Collin Mowry (Jr.), Jimmy Nugent (Sr.)
On Roster: 6

Summary: At catcher, Louisville did wind up getting better as the season went on. Nugent had a slow start, but the former Penn State/JUCO product actually wound up having the third-best OPS on the team. As for the depth behind him, it's hit-or-miss (no pun intended). Baker barely hit over .200 over as the primary backup, while Mowry showed some promise in a super limited role.

Infielders

Who's In (7): Luke Belardo (Fr.), Noah Hosking (Fr.), Corey Les (Fr.), Drew Messey (Fr.), Manual Sanchez (Fr.), Isaac Sullivan (Fr.) Jonah Weathers (So., JUCO - John A. Logan)
Who's Out (2): Bayram Hot (Grad.), A.J. Martin (Grad.)
Who's Back (5): Alex Alicea (Sr.), Tague Davis (Jr.), Zach Davis (So.), Kade Elam (So.), Jax Hisle (Sr.)
On Roster: 12

Summary: As far as the infield goes, Louisville is actually in a great spot. Tague Davis is one of the best players in the sport, and the ACC Player of the Year is coming off of the best power-hitting season in program history. Alicea is veteran shortstop who brings value to the lineup, even if he did regress some this past season. Not to mention Elam showed great things at second base as a true freshman, and Weathers put together a good season at John A. Logan).

Outfielders

Who's In (1): Zach Floyd (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): Lucas Moore (MLB Draft), Chase Porter (Transfer - TBD), Zion Rose (MLB Draft)
Who's Back (3): Kyle Campbell (Jr.), Griffin Crain (Jr.), Ben Slanker (Jr.)
On Roster: 4

Summary: Louisville is losing a ton of production over in the outfield. While Moore and Rose technically have one year of college left, but both have made it clear that they will heading to the MLB this summer. Not to mention Porter hit the portal less than 24 hours after the end of the season. That being said, Crain put together a very good true freshman season, and Slanker was respectable as well.

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(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)