How Much Production is Louisville Baseball Losing?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While the Louisville baseball saw their 2022 season come to an end at the hands of Texas A&M in the College Station Super Regional, there is hope for next season that the program can get back to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series.

The Cardinals return four regular starters in the field - Jack Payton, Christian Knapczyk, Logan Beard and Isaac Humphrey - with all four batting at least .310 with 90+ total bases. Riley Phillips looks to be the next star ace on the mound after his gritty postseason performance, with go-to relievers Evan Webster and Ryan Hawks also slated to come back. Not to mention that Louisville is bringing in the No. 3 overall recruiting class, and a handful of reserve players from 2022 are potentially in line to make big jumps in 2023.

But, as is the case every year under head coach Dan McDonnell, Louisville is in line to lose a fair amount of production from their 2022 campaign. Between seniors playing their final game, juniors playing their way into an early MLB Draft selection, and others entering the transfer portal, several players have donned the Cardinals uniform for the final time.

Below are all the players that are departing the Louisville baseball program following the end of their 2022 season:

Graduation:

Ben Bianco
Position: First Baseman
2022 Statline (63 GP, 59 GS): .267/.337/.475, 11 HR, 52 RBI

After not seeing much action the year before, the Bianco had a good bounce-back year for his final season in college. Not only did he turn into a steady option at first base, but he was arguably one of the top nine-hole hitters in all of college baseball in 2022.

Carter Lohman
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (15 APP, 4 GS): 6.04 ERA, 24 K, 26 BB

While Lohman was a touch inconsistent, nine of his 15 appearances on the year resulted in no earned runs given up. He ended the year on a high notes, posting scoreless outings against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and vs. Michigan in the Louisville Regional.

Cam Masterman
Position: Left Fielder
2022 Statline (61 GP, 61 GS): .305/.399/.597, 18 HR, 61 RBI

Masterman had a bit of a slump to end the regular season, but he broke out of it when it mattered most. He exploded during the postseason, going 12-26 with nine RBI and four HR's, including the go-ahead blast that clinched the Louisville Regional

Ben Metzinger
Position: Third Baseman
2022 Statline (64 GP, 64 GS): .312/.427/.591, 19 HR, 69 RBI

Metzinger was a key cog in Louisville's return to the NCAA Tournament. He and Dalton Rushing were the only two UofL batters with an OPS over 1.000, and he finished as the team leader in RBI, total bases (159) and walks (51).

Jared Poland
Position: Right-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (17 APP, 15 GS): 3.46 ERA, 103 K, 32 BB

Starting his career as a two-way player, Poland transformed into Louisville's ace for his final year. He posted seven quality starts, and became the first UofL pitcher to strikeout 100 batters since Reid Detmers in 2019.

Cam Robinson
Position: Right-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (12 APP, 0 GS): 9.00 ERA, 22 K, 8 BB

A former JUCO transfer, Robinson had a solid start to the year, but was largely phased out of the bullpen rotation by the end of the season.

Luke Seed
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (5 APP, 3 GS): 9.28 ERA, 17 K, 10 BB

As one of the only semi-consistent starters from the 2021 season, Seed entered 2022 with somewhat high expectations. Unfortunately, he battled an arm injury all season long, and wasn't the same player because of it when he did see time on the mound.

Chris Seng
Position: Outfielder
2022 Statline (34 APP, 0 GS): .385/.636/.615

Seng didn't get to start considering how crowded Louisville's outfield is, but he was a solid backup. By the end of the season, he was both the go-to defensive replacement in the outfield and pinch runner.

Garrett Schmeltz
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (20 APP, 3 GS): 3.99 ERA, 40 K, 14 BB

While the bullpen was inconsistent for most of the season, Schmeltz was one of their more reliable options. He even had a pair of huge starts in the postseason, helping the Cardinals get wins over SEMO and Michigan in the Louisville Regional.

Levi Usher
Position: Center Fielder
2022 Statline (64 GP, 63 GS): .285/.362/.455, 7 HR, 49 RBI

Usher departs Louisville as one of the speediest players in program history. His 36 stolen bases in 2022 is sixth on the single-season UofL leaderboard, while his 73 career swiped bags is good for seventh in school history.

Early MLB Draft Hopefuls:

Tate Kuehner
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (25 APP, 8 GS): 3.57 ERA, 70 K, 32 BB

There's very much a chance that Kuehner does come back for his senior year, but don't be shocked if he gets selected with a relatively high draft pick, either. He began the season as a starter, but after transitioning back to the bullpen, he was borderline un-hittable. In his final. He gave up just four earned runs in his final 12 appearances of the season, including three huge relief outings in the the Louisville Regional.

Michael Prosecky
Position: Left-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (26 APP, 0 GS): 3.38 ERA, 44 K, 22 BB

Prosecky was able bounce back from his injury-riddled 2021 campaign, and might have pitched his way into the top ten rounds of the draft. His 11 saves on the season are the most by a Louisville pitcher since Lincoln Henzman's 16 in 2017, and he didn't blow a single save opportunity.

Dalton Rushing
Position: Catcher
2022 Statline (64 GP, 63 GS): .310/.470/.686, 23 HR, 62 RBI

Unless he slides down draft boards for some reason, or his rookie contract is way below his slot value, don't anticipate Rushing coming back. He is undoubtedly Louisville's top MLB Draft prospect, following a year in which he was just a couple homers away from tying UofL's single-season record. He also led the Cards in slugging and OPS (1.156).

Transfer Portal:

Seamus Barrett
Position: Right-Handed Pitcher
2022 Statline (6 APP, 3 GS): 11.68 ERA, 19 K, 9 BB

After a couple bad starts against Morehead State and Northern Kentucky, and a relief outing vs. TCU where the Horned Frogs nearly came back, Barrett was relegated to a last-ditch option out of the bullpen.

Kurtis Reid
Position: Shortstop
2022 Stats: None.

Reid has a bright future ahead, coming into Louisville as a top-400 player in the Class of 2021. But after seeing no playing time in 2022, and two middle infielder starters coming back, the playing time outlook was grim.

Drake Westcott
Position: First Baseman
2022 Statline (12 GP, 1 GS): .158/.190/.368, 1 HR, 6 RBI

Westcott saw very limited opportunities in 2022, mainly serving as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement late in games. Though as the season went on, McDonnell started opting for other pinch hitter options.

(Photo of Dalton Rushing: Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter

Add us as a preferred source on Google