Dan McDonnell Optimistic for Louisville's Future Following Return to NCAAs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The offseason is now here for the Louisville baseball program.
Squaring off against Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament's College Station Super Regional, the Cardinals gave themselves multiple opportunities against the home Aggies, but couldn't get over the hump. They were walked-off 5-4 in the opener of the best-of-three series on Friday, with their season coming to an end on Saturday following a 4-3 loss.
While the program fell short of the ultimate goal, the Cardinals still had a special season. Finishing with an overall mark of 42-21-1, they captured their fifth ACC Atlantic Division crown in seven full seasons, and made their ninth Super Regional appearance in program history
"When I get a chance to reflect, this was a special year for our group. Our guys did a lot of amazing things" McDonnell said. "We won the Atlantic Division of the ACC. I still don’t think our league gets the respect it deserves. We don’t get treated like another league. It is what it is, we just have to overcome and be a little bit better. Do a little bit more. I like that challenge. It’s fun.
"When I reflect on this group, this group got us back on track. I’m super proud of them for that. It was a really fun year. We did some neat things."
Entering this season, not very many in the college baseball world thought Louisville would be in this spot. Last season, the Cardinals missed NCAA Tournament for only the second time in McDonnell's tenure, then lost several impact players to the MLB Draft and graduation. As a result. Louisville went unranked in every preseason poll, and was picked to finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division.
McDonnell then spent the entire season preaching the message of "reset the standard" to his guys, and it nearly resulted in a trip back to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series. Texas A&M might have pulled off a two-game sweep, but Louisville was threatening late in both games, and only lost by two combined runs.
For McDonnell, it's an indicator that - despite missing the Big Dance last season - Louisville should have been given proper respect from day one of the 2022 season. Especially considering the Cardinals were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation last year, before an abysmal final month of the season tanked their postseason hopes.
"For anyone who doubts us, doubts this program, I don't know what you're smoking or drinking. Because we're not a program to reckon with," he said. "For some reason, we lost respect after one month last year. We had one bad month - go back to the drawing board, one month. People jumped off the train, everybody jumped off the train. I don't think you show a lot of baseball smarts if you jump off our train, I'm just telling you."
There's reason to believe that Louisville will be right back in contention next season, and that 2021 was an outlier. While the program will lose a handful of impact players, such as Dalton Rushing, Ben Metzinger, Cam Masterman and Jared Poland, they do retain a fair amount of both hitters and pitchers. Plus, they are bringing in yet another top-tier crop of freshman, as their Class of 2022 is ranked No. 3 in the nation by Perfect Game.
With the combination of returning and incoming talent, McDonnell is optimistic regarding not only next season, but the future of the Louisville baseball program as a whole.
"We're trying to be one of the elite," McDonnell said. "As much as we brag about the past, it's about the future. You got to prepare for the future, because tomorrow will be here that quickly. ... As for Louisville, as I always say, we'll be back. I look forward to seeing everybody next year."
(Photo of Dan McDonnell: 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