Eight Cards Named to 2022 All-ACC Team
Press Release from the University of Louisville:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville baseball team had a slew of student-athletes recognized on Monday as the Atlantic Coast Conference postseason awards were announced.
Levi Usher took home the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award and was one of eight Cardinals named to the All-Conference teams. Louisville lead all programs with the eight selections and are the most for the Cards since also getting eight in 2017.
Usher, Jared Poland, Michael Prosecky and Dalton Rushing were all second team selections. Christian Knapczyk, Cameron Masterman, Ben Metzinger and Jack Payton were each named to the third team. Logan Beard was also voted to the ACC All-Freshman team.
Usher is the second Louisville player to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Devin Hairston who took home the first-ever ACC DPOY honor in 2017. The senior has shown himself to be on of college baseball’s best centerfielders this spring, creating a full highlight reel of elite defensive plays culminating in earning SportsCenter’s No. 1 play for his home run robbery against Clemson on April 30.
In addition to his defensive prowess, Usher is the conference’s leader in stolen bases with 33 this season. He hit .279 during the regular season with 13 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 40 RBIs.
Poland has been the leader of the Louisville pitching staff and among the best in the ACC in 2022. The right-hander is 5-3 overall and ranks fourth in the ACC in strikeouts and fifth in ERA. Poland had four double-digit strikeout efforts this season and owns five starts of at least six innings with one or zero runs allowed.
Prosecky stepped into the closer role for the Cardinals this spring and has excelled. In 22 appearances this season, Prosecky is 2-0 with a 2.90 ERA and is second in the ACC with 10 saves. He has proven to be a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, with six of his 10 saves requiring more than three outs.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Rushing has been a rock in the middle of the Louisville batting order. The junior closed out the regular season with a .303 average, a team-high 19 home runs and 55 RBIs. Rushing closed out the season strong, homering in seven of the last 10 games and is one long ball away from becoming the first Louisville player with 20 home runs since 2017.
Knapczyk was the spark that made the Louisville offense go through the first 46 games of the season, hitting .335 with 10 doubles, four triples and a pair of home runs. Despite missing the final nine games of the year, Knapczyk led the Cardinals and finished fourth in the ACC with 64 runs scored. This is the second All-ACC selection for the shortstop, who earned third team honors in 2021 as well.
Masterman has put together the best season of his five-year career at Louisville this spring. The Prospect, Kentucky, native hit .289 with 11 doubles, 14 home runs and 52 RBIs, putting up career highs in nearly every statistical category.
Metzinger has had a career-year as well, shaking off an injury-riddled 2021 and turning in an All-Conference performance in 2022. Metzinger hit .304 during the regular season as the only Louisville player to start all 55 games. The senior amassed 11 doubles, 17 home runs and led the Cards with 61 RBIs on the year.
After seeing limited time as a freshman, Payton exploded onto the scene for the Cardinals in his sophomore season. Payton led Louisville with a .355 average and 77 hits during the regular season. He also had a team-best 20 doubles, becoming the first Cardinal to reach 20 two-baggers since Logan Wyatt did so in 2018.
Beard had a terrific regular season in his first collegiate action after sitting out in 2021. He started all but two games and posted a .319 batting average with 11 doubles, four homers and 48 RBIs. Beard owns 20 multi-hit contests through the regular season.
The Cardinals captured their fifth ACC Atlantic Division championship in their seventh full season as members of the conference and are the No. 2 seed in this week’s ACC Championship in Charlotte, N.C. Louisville will play 11th-seeded Pitt on Wednesday and seventh-seeded Georgia Tech on Thursday in pool play action. Both games are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET at Truist Field.
(Photo via Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)
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