Louisville Baseball had a promising season snuffed out by the Coronavirus. They came in ranked number 1, boasting a trio of prospective MLB pitchers in Reid Detmers, Bobby Miller, and Luke Smith. They had young offensive pieces in guys like Henry Davis, Alex Binelas, and Levi Usher. They were expected to be making a trip to Omaha again, but it wasn’t meant to be.
With the college baseball season concluded, Baseball America announced their “Never Too Early” Top 25. Louisville checks in the top 10 at number 8.
Here's our 'Never Too Early' Top 25 prediction for 2021.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 11, 2020
The top 5 teams?
1. @GatorsBB
2. @TTU_Baseball
3. @UCLABaseball
4. @OleMissBSB
5. @UVABaseball
See the full list: https://t.co/t0eb1B5TZe pic.twitter.com/V8yDsEgkI8
The main reason is because they are likely to lose at least two of the incredible trio of weekend starters in Detmers and Miller. There is a chance Luke Smith could return as the NCAA will allow seniors from spring sports an extra year of eligibility. However, Smith may get drafted as well or may decide to go forward with a pursuit of a pro career.
I think the main reason they remain in the top 10 is because their recruiting class is excellent and they return the likes of Binelas, Davis, and Usher. They also return Michael Prosecky, a young and promising arm, that was the midweek starter for Louisville this past season. While he did have struggles, the talent was obvious.
Regardless, Head Coach Dan McDonnell still has a lot of young talent stockpiled and some promising freshmen and JUCOs coming in. And we know Coach Mac always finds a way to win and compete for the College World Series every year. Being ranked 8th, to me, seems fair. I expect the Cards to work their way up those rankings relatively quickly when the season commences. While I had pegged the 2020 Cards to win it all, I can’t say that about 2021. However, I think they can get to Omaha. If they get there, anything can happen.
