Louisville is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, heading to Nashville as the 2-seed. The Cardinals start their NCAA Tournament run on Friday against East Tennessee State, with #1 overall seed and host Vanderbilt and Wright State also joining the Nashville regional.
Last Week in Cliff Notes
Louisville was eliminated in the first round of the ACC Baseball Championship last week, dropping a 13-11 loss to Pitt.
The Cardinals fell behind 8-1 after five innings, with Louisville’s pitching lineup allowing 13 walks and all 11 runs being earned. Louisville had four runs in the fifth inning and another run in the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-6, including a three-run home run from Eddie King, Jr., part of his 3-for-4 afternoon with five RBIs.
Pitt added three more runs in the top of the eighth with a three-run home run from Lorenzo Carrier, but Louisville tied it at 11-11 in the bottom portion of the inning. However, Pitt got a two-run homer in the top of the ninth from Luke Cantwell to put the Panthers ahead for good.
The NCAA Baseball Tournament explained
When I’ve covered Louisville baseball’s runs in the NCAA Tournament, I’ve usually provided a breakdown of how the NCAA Baseball Tournament format works. So here’s another quick rundown of the format.
64 teams enter the NCAA Baseball Tournament each year, divided into 16 regionals, with four teams in each regional. All regionals are double-elimination brackets, with the winners advancing to the Super Regionals (round of 16).
The Super Regionals are then contested in a best-of-three series, with the eight Super Regional winners advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The College World Series then starts with two four-team brackets, both played in a double-elimination bracket like the Regional round. Once two finalists have been determined, those two finalists play another best-of-three series to determine a national champion.
In Louisville’s case, the winner of this regional would go on to face the winner of the Hattiesburg regional in the Super Regional round, played by host Southern Miss, Alabama, Miami (FL), and Columbia.
Read more: Around the Bases: Nashville RegionalRegional Review: Vanderbilt Commodores
One of college baseball’s premier powerhouses, Vanderbilt (42-16) is back in the NCAA Tournament looking to win their third national championship. The Commodores are the #1 overall seed after winning the SEC Tournament, and enter the NCAA Tournament as the #1 team in the RPI, having notched series wins over Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky (also beating Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament). They also have wins over UCLA, UC-Irvine, and Western Kentucky.
Vanderbilt also has a 28-5 home record this season, a good omen for the Commodores to potentially make another appearance in the College World Series.
Although the Commodores are batting .270 this season (12th in the SEC), their 3.76 team ERA was third in the conference and has been the dominant aspect of the team this season. They also led the SEC in strikeouts (657), and their .219 opposing batting average was also second in the SEC, only behind Texas’ .216.
JD Thompson (5-5, 4.06 ERA, 110 Ks), Cody Bowker (3-4, 4.46 ERA, 93 Ks), and Austin Nye (2-0, 2.93 ERA) are a strong trio of starting arms for Vanderbilt, with Connor Fennell (6-0, 2.68 ERA in 16 appearances) being a great fourth starter. The Commodores bullpen is extremely deep, with Brennan Seiber (1-1, 2.28 ERA in 16 appearances), Luke Guth (4-0, 0.93 ERA in 19 appearances), and Sawyer Hawks (4-0, 1.64 ERA, seven saves in 17 appearances) headlining that group. Guth has not allowed an earned run in 18 of 19 appearances, with Seiber having shutouts in six of his last eight appearances. Levi Huesman (1-0, 2.93 ERA in 17 appearances) and Tommy O’Rourke (3-0, 4.02 ERA in 15 appearances) have also been solid from the bullpen.
Vanderbilt only has one player averaging over .300 at the plate in Riley Nelson, who is averaging .358 with 13 doubles and 45 RBIs. The Commodores do have 105 stolen bases (third in the SEC), led by four players who have at least 18 stolen bases this season: RJ Austin (.271 batting, 15 doubles, 42 RBIs, 22 SBs), Jacob Humphrey (.292 batting, 22 RBIs, 19 SBs), Rustan Rigdon (.258 batting, 24 RBIs, 19 SBs), and Mike Mancini (.267 batting, 21 RBIs, 18 SBs). Austin is batting 12-for-33 (.364) in his last eight games. Brodie Johnston leads the team in home runs (13) and RBIs (53), and was named to both the All-SEC Freshman and Defensive teams, as well as being named SEC Tournament MVP.
Regional Review: Louisville Cardinals
For the first time since 2022, Louisville (35-21) is back in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville notched 12 Quad 1 wins in the regular season and has series wins over North Carolina and Florida State, as well as non-conference wins over Texas, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. However, they’ve lost six of their last eight games, and are 4-8 in the month of May coming into this weekend.
Louisville’s offense has been solid for most of the season, averaging .306 as a team (fifth in the ACC) and leading the ACC in stolen bases (146). The Cardinals have two All-ACC First Team outfielders in Lucas Moore and Zion Rose, who have been two of Louisville’s most consistent players all season. Moore leads the team in batting (.373), stolen bases (46), and on-base percentage (.470) while also striking out just 21 times this season (with 32 walks). Rose leads Louisville in RBIs (59) and has batted .327 this season with 15 doubles and 11 home runs. They’ve also had strong bats all season with Jake Munroe (.340 batting, 12 doubles, nine home runs, 52 RBIs) and Eddie King, Jr. (.336 batting, 14 doubles, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs) averaging over .330, the latter making All-ACC Second Team honors. Freshman Tague Davis (.283 batting, 50 RBIs) set a modern Louisville freshman record with 18 home runs this season, and earned All-ACC Third Team and Freshman Team honors.
Louisville also hopes to get a boost with Matt Klein returning. He made his return against Pitt last week, batting 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored. The catcher was one of Louisville’s most consistent bats before being sidelined with an injury since late March, batting .338 with 26 RBIs in 23 games played.
However, Louisville has had issues with pitching for most of the season. Their 5.72 team ERA was 12th in the ACC, and they allowed a 6.34 ERA in conference play (14th out of 16 ACC teams). The Cardinals will need to get good starts from Ethan Eberle (5-2, 5.01 ERA in 16 appearances), Peter Michael (4-3, 4.81 ERA in 13 starts), and/or Patrick Forbes (2-2, 4.80 ERA in 12 starts) to avoid getting into early deficits. Jake Schweitzer (3-2, 2.41 ERA in 20 appearances) and Wyatt Danilowicz (0-1, 2.67 ERA in 23 appearances) are Louisville’s top right and left-handed bullpen pitchers, respectively.
Regional Review: East Tennessee State Buccaneers
ETSU (41-15) is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, having won the Southern Conference regular season crown and conference tournament. They also have a notable non-conference win at Tennessee.
The Buccaneers got here with an offense that led the Southern Conference in batting average (.310), runs (493), and home runs (116), while also leading the conference in ERA (4.44), opposing batting average (.252), and the lowest BB/9 (3.4). Additionally, ETSU is 36th in the RPI, with a 6-6 record against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents.
ETSU had a near clean sweep of the SoCon postseason awards, with Cooper Torres winning SoCon Player of the Year honors, Brady Frederick winning Pitcher of the Year, Axel Melendez winning Freshman of the Year, and head coach Joe Pennucci winning Coach of the Year.
Cooper Torres has been the star of the team all season, and was named the SoCon Tournament MVP as well as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. Torres leads ETSU in batting (.378) and on-base percentage (.477), and led the SoCon in home runs (23) and RBIs (72). Torres was one of five ETSU players named as all-conference first team selections in the SoCon, joining Jamie Palmese (.300 batting, 13 doubles, 16 home runs, 48 RBIs, 15 stolen bases), and pitchers Carter Fink, Jace Hyde, and Brady Frederick. Torres and Palmese, along with Cody Miller (.330 batting, 14 doubles, 16 home runs, 55 RBIs, 27 stolen bases) and Grant Gallagher (.285, 1.167 OPS, ten doubles, 20 home runs, 49 RBIs), have hit double-digit home runs this season, with Miller leading the team in stolen bases.
ETSU has a trio of solid starters in Carter Fink (6-4, 3.97 ERA), Jace Hyde (7-0, 3.72 ERA), and Michael Harpster (7-3, 4.54 ERA), with Fink and Hyde being named All-SoCon First Team players. Brady Frederick (8-1, 2.54 ERA, four saves in 23 appearances) was the SoCon Pitcher of the Year, led the team in strikeouts as a reliever (70), and held batters to just .178 at the plate. Andrew Ronne (1-1, 2.77 ERA, three saves in 19 appearances) and Derek McCarley (3-1, 3.24 ERA in 20 appearances) are other notable relievers, with Ronne having shutouts in four of his last five appearances.
Regional Review: Wright State Raiders
Wright State (38-19) is back in the NCAA Tournament once again, having won both the Horizon League Conference regular season crown and the conference tournament to clinch their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons. The Raiders won five games in three days in the Horizon League Tournament to clinch their auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament, beating Oakland (MI), Northern Kentucky, and Milwaukee three times to do so.
Like ETSU, Wright State led its conference in both offense and defense. The Raiders led the Horizon League in batting (.307), runs (530), home runs (90), slugging percentage (.521), on-base percentage (.425), ERA (6.27), strikeouts thrown (494), opponent batting average (.268), and fielding percentage (.971), en route to a 25-5 conference record.
Boston Smith (.337 batting, ten doubles, 23 home runs, 67 RBIs) and JP Peltier (.315 batting, 14 doubles, 20 home runs, 69 RBIs, 22 stolen bases) both have 20+ home runs this season, and were both named as First Team All-Horizon League players. Braylen Bromquist (.333 batting, ten doubles, 35 RBIs) and Hunter Warren (.342 batting, 14 doubles, 45 RBIs) also earned First Team honors, with Luke Arnold (.263 batting, 43 RBIs), Cam Gilkerson (.315 batting, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 53 RBIs), and Gus Gregory (.360 batting, 15 doubles, 45 RBIs in 36 games played) earning Second-Team honors. Patrick Fultz (.330 batting, 43 RBIs, 12 stolen bases) earned Tournament MVP honors last weekend, batting 12-for-22 (.545) with a home run and six RBIs in five games.
On the mound, Cam Allen (7-3, 5.43 ERA) earned All-Horizon League First-Team Honors as Wright State’s best starter. They haven’t had much consistency from their starting rotation outside of Allen, but relievers such as Max Whitesell (3-0, 3.22 ERA in 19 appearances) and Warren Hartzell (6-2, 4.58 ERA in 20 appearances) will be key to Wright State making some potential upsets in the tournament.
How to Watch / Listen:
- Friday’s (May 30th) Schedule:
- Game 1: Louisville v. ETSU, 2 p.m. ET; ESPN+
- Game 2: Vanderbilt v. Wright State, 6 p.m. ET; SEC Network
- Saturday’s (May 31st) Schedule:
- Game 3 (Elimination Game): Game 1 v. Game 2 losers, 3 p.m. ET
- Game 4: Game 1 v. Game 2 winners, 9 p.m. ET
- Sunday’s (June 1st) Schedule:
- Game 5 (Elimination Game): Game 3 winner v. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. ET
- Game 6 (Regional Final): Game 4 winner v. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m. ET
- Monday’s (June 2nd) Schedule:
- Game 7 (Winner advances, if necessary): Game 6 rematch, TBD
PRESS RELEASE: Stephen Williams
LOUISVILLE, Ky. –
The Road to Omaha begins on Friday for the University of Louisville
baseball team as the Cardinals take on East Tennessee State on Friday at 2 p.m. ET in Nashville. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with radio coverage available on 93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK.
TWO SEED IN THE NASHVILLE REGIONAL
The Cardinals are the two seed in the Nashville Regional this weekend.
Vanderbilt is the top seed and host, and is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. East Tennessee State and Wright State are the three and four seeds, respectively.
LAST POSTSEASON TRIP TO NASHVILLE
The Cardinals have fond postseason memories in Nashville. Louisville played
at Vanderbilt in the 2013 Super Regional round, winning the first two games to clinch its second College World Series appearance.
SERIES HISTORY WITH NASHVILLE REGIONAL FOES
While Louisville has plenty of history with Vanderbilt and Wright State,
Friday will mark the first-ever contest against ETSU. The Cardinals are 4-6 in postseason play against Vanderbilt, having met in five different NCAA Tournaments – 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019.Louisville is 9-8 all-time against Wright State, including a win
over the Raiders in the 2016 regional final.
LOUISVILLE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Making their 14th NCAA Championship appearance in the 19 seasons under head
coach Dan McDonnell, the Cardinals are 51-33 overall in NCAA postseason games during that span.
Louisville is playing in a road regional for the first time since the 2018
season. The Cardinals have been in five regionals away from home, posting an 8-9 record in those games. The Cardinals won the 2007 Columbia Regional on their way to their first College World Series appearance.
The Cardinals were among nine ACC teams selected to the 2025 NCAA Championship
— Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest.
Louisville has advanced to an NCAA Super Regional nine times and the College
World Series five times in its 14 previous NCAA Championship berths. The Cardinals are 36-14 in NCAA Regional games, 11-9 in NCAA Super Regional games and 4-10 in College World Series games.
Louisville competed against 13 of the other 63 teams in this year’s NCAA Championship
field during the regular season going 13-13 against those teams.
The Cardinals played five of the 16 regional hosts during the regular season
– No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 9 Florida State and No. 11 Clemson – posting a 7-4 mark in those 11 games.
During his previous 20 seasons as a collegiate coach entering 2025, including
his final two seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss in 2005 and 2006, McDonnell advanced to 15 NCAA Regionals and 11 NCAA Super Regionals to go along with five College World Series berths.
The Cardinals have just one player on the current roster who has played in
the NCAA Tournament. Brennyn Cutts is the lone Cardinal to have experience in the postseason, playing in the 2024 NCAA Lexington Regional for Indiana State. Cutts allowed just two runs in a complete game effort to send the Sycamores to the regional final.
PLAYER NOTES
Eddie King Jr.
heads into the NCAA Regional on a tear, going 8-for-14
over the last four games with two doubles, four homers, nine RBIs and seven runs scored. King led the Cardinals in home runs and RBIs last season and has matched his homer total with 14 this season and set a new career mark with 52 RBIs. The senior has been
at his best against the best competition throughout his career, as 29 of his 33 home runs have come against Power Four teams including all 14 this spring.
Lucas Moore
has been the ultimate weapon at the top of the lineup
for the Cards. Moore leads the Cardinals and the ACC with 78 runs scored, sixth-most in all of Division I. The speedy outfielder is also pacing the league and second nationally going 46-for-47 in stolen bases. He also ranks second in the ACC in hits, fourth
in triples, seventh in batting average and eighth in on-base percentage. Moore’s 46 stolen bases are the second-most in a single season in Louisville history. His 78 runs scored are tied for eighth-most in program history and most since three Cardinals had
80 or more in 2009.
Zion Rose
had an exceptional freshman campaign that saw him
hit .380 with 19 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs while finishing with more walks than strikeouts. The 2025 season has seen more of the same but with more damage. Rose is hitting .327 with 28 extra-base hits and a team-leading 59 RBIs. The increase in production
hasn’t affected his plate discipline though, as he has 28 walks and eight HBPs to just 28 strikeouts. Rose has also increased his production on the basepaths, going 29-for-32 in stolen bases.
Ethan Eberle
began the season as a key reliever for the Cards,
but has since moved into the weekend rotation. The southpaw has allowed three runs or fewer in four of his last five starts – at Clemson, at Notre Dame and at Georgia Tech.
Tucker Biven
served as Louisville’s closer each of the last two
seasons, but has recently taken on a new role. The junior pitched in the weekend rotation each of the final two weekends against Georgia Tech and Notre Dame. Biven received a no-decision in each start, but allowed just three runs on five hits over nine innings
with nine strikeouts combined between the two.
