It’s mid-February, you know what that means.
Louisville baseball starts their 2026 campaign this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium, hosting Michigan State in an ACC-Big Ten showdown. Head coach Dan McDonnell enters his 20th season as the Cardinals head coach, fresh off his sixth appearance in the College World Series last season with the program, and is looking to make it a seventh in 2026.
In Case You Missed It…
As mentioned, Dan McDonnell enters his 20th season as Louisville baseball’s head coach. McDonnell joins Frank Camp (football; 1946-68), Bernard “Peck” Hickman (men’s basketball; 1944-67), Denny Crum (men’s basketball; 1971-2001), Arthur Albiero (swimming / diving; 2003-present), and Rex Ecarma (tennis; 1990-2019) as notable Louisville coaches to reach the 20-season mark with the university.
Read more: Around the Bases (2026): Week OneLouisville’s schedule is once again among the nation’s toughest in 2026. It includes highly-anticipated rematches at Vanderbilt (May 5) and at Miami (FL) (May 7-9), who Louisville defeated in last year’s Regional and Super Regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament, respectively. Louisville also has their annual home-and-home series with both Western Kentucky (March 24 at WKU, April 14 at Louisville) and Kentucky (April 7 at UK, April 21 at Louisville), who also made the NCAA Tournament last year. Also included in the schedule are Nebraska (February 20 in Arlington, Texas), North Carolina (March 20-22), Duke (April 2-4), Clemson (April 24-26), and Wake Forest (April 30-May 2), giving Louisville ten opponents who made last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Louisville was also picked to finish fourth in the ACC Preseason Poll, with Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Florida State ahead of the Cardinals in the top three.
Louisville Baseball in the Polls
Returning Names You Need to Know
It’s a unique season for Louisville in terms of following up a prior College World Series run. Louisville has a healthy mix of both returning talent and newcomers that has the Cardinals ranked as high as eighth in D1baseball.com’s Top 25 poll.
Headlining Louisville baseball in 2026 will be outfielders Lucas Moore and Zion Rose, who were named on the Golden Spikes Award watchlist and could be in contention for both All-ACC and All-American honors. Moore is the top returning Louisville hitter with a .341 average in 2025, and led the team with a staggering 53 stolen bases in 54 attempts. Moore is a really solid contact hitter with equally impressive patience at the plate, and has excellent speed for both base running and defense. He’s currently ranked 82nd on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft and has a really strong chance to hear his name called early later this summer.
Zion Rose, however, is ranked 27th and could be Louisville’s next first rounder in the draft. Rose is also a great baserunner with 31 stolen bases last year, and has good hitting for both power and contact (.310, 16 doubles, 13 home runs, and 67 RBIs last year). He’s an athletic player and a tough competitor on the diamond, with the versatility to play catcher if Louisville is in a pinch.
First baseman Tague Davis and shortstop Alex Alicea also return to give Louisville some continuity with their infield, adding more power and speed to the Cardinals batting order, respectively. Davis had a really strong freshman campaign with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs last season. Alicea also returns to add another .300+ hitter to the batting order. With Alicea’s 34 stolen bases last year, Louisville returns its top three baserunners from last year that stole 118 bags collectively. Both guys are also Louisville’s leading returners in walks (Alicea with 39, Davis with 35), and if Davis can improve from last year’s 61 strikeouts, he’s another potential All-American candidate with his explosive power.
Bayram Hot‘s return gives Louisville another seasoned vet for their infield, and he likely projects as a starter at either second or third base. Hot averaged .326 at the plate in 36 games played and with solid defensive chops, he should provide some stability at the hot corner for the Cardinals.
On the mound is where Louisville faces the most questions, with notable starters Patrick Forbes and Tucker Biven departing for the pros. Ethan Eberle (6-2, 4.65 ERA, 59 Ks) does return after emerging late in the year as one of Louisville’s top left-handed options, and should be a lock in the weekend starting rotation. Peter Michael (4-3, 4.83 ERA) also returns after missing the last month of the season, giving Louisville a senior veteran in the pitching rotation.
Louisville’s only major departure from their bullpen was Brennyn Cutts (and technically Biven, who alternated between reliever and starter throughout the year), and they get a big boost with Wyatt Danilowicz, TJ Schlageter, and Jake Schweitzer all returning. Schweitzer and Danilowicz are likely contenders to be Louisville’s closer, after posting ERAs of 2.34 and 2.70, respectively. Danilowicz likely gets the nod as a left-hander with a versatile pitch arsenal, but it’s possible Schweitzer could see some run against right-handed lineups to close the game. Schlageter could be a contender to return as a midweek starter / top bullpen option as a right-handed pitcher. Jack Brown (5-5, 6.59 ERA in 26 appearances), Ty Starke (1-0, 8.35 ERA in 23 appearances), and Collin Hartman (2-1, 11.65 ERA in 17 appearances) also could be major bullpen contributors.
New Faces You Should Get to Know
Eberle and Michael will likely project to be two of the three weekend starters for Louisville to begin the season, expect junior Jake Bean to be the third man and possibly the Friday starter. The Kent State transfer earned First Team All-MAC honors last season, logging a 6-2 record with a 4.20 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 72 strikeouts with 22 walks.
Louisville also got a huge addition from the MAC for their offense, with Ben Slanker arriving from Ohio University as the likely third starter in the outfield. Slanker adds a massive power hitter to Louisville’s lineup; he tied for the MAC lead in home runs last season (21) and was third in the conference in RBIs (69).
Charleston Southern transfer AJ Martin is another veteran that’s expected to contribute significantly, after batting .316 with 13 doubles, 12 home runs, and 53 RBIs last season. Martin will be in the conversation as a starter at second base or possibly even third base.
With Matt Klein beginning his pro career and Tagger Tyson transferring to Kentucky in the offseason, Louisville will likely have as many as three guys playing catcher this season. George Baker (.111, HR, five RBIs) and Collin Mowry (.162, five RBIs) both return from last year’s group, with JUCO transfer Jimmy Nugent (.346, 12 HRs, 41 RBIs at Lincoln Trail College) also expected to vie for playing time.
One freshman to keep an eye on is Kaden Schoenly, one of the top recruits in Louisville’s 2025 recruiting class. He has a similar build to Tague Davis and, like him, has the ability to pitch on the mound. Schoenly could be an option as a DH or a defensive first baseman on occasion.
Griffin Crain had a really solid fall ball campaign and could be a popular breakout candidate this season, expect him to be in the mix as both DH and an outfielder. Kade Elam is another freshman that could emerge as a breakout player; Elam was Mr. Kentucky in baseball at Corbin High School, batting .455 with 41 RBIs in his senior season.
On the mound, Brandon Shannon and Joe Olson are two of Louisville’s highest rated arms from the 2025 recruiting class. Both could see early playing time, with returning players Jake Gregor (1-0, 7.84 ERA in ten appearances) and Casen Murphy (0-1, 8.64 ERA in 12 appearances) possibly seeing a bigger role in the bullpen this season.
This Week’s Games:
- v. Michigan State
- Fri. Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. ET
- Sat. Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. ET
- Sun Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. ET
- TV: All three games are on ACCNX (available via ESPN+)
Opponent Primer: Michigan State
Louisville starts their 2026 season with a weekend series against a Big Ten opponent in Michigan State. The Spartans will be looking to make an improvement from last year’s 28-27 record, led by head coach Jake Boss Jr., who enters his 18th season with Michigan State.
Second baseman Ryan McKay returns after earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors last season, batting a team-high .319 at the plate with 20 doubles and 28 RBIs. Noah Bright (.277, six doubles, 15 RBIs) and Randy Seymour (.268, 12 doubles, 36 RBIs) also return to the starting lineup, with Indiana transfer Jasen Oliver (.179, 18 RBIs) possibly becoming a major contributor. Oliver earned All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors in 2024 at IU, batting .285 with eight doubles, ten home runs, and 37 RBIs that season.
Aidan Donovan (2-3, 4.70 ERA with eight starts) and Nolan Higgins (3-6, 7.04 ERA in 15 starts) also return, giving Michigan State two veterans that will likely lead the weekend rotation to start the season. Gannon Grundman (1-2, 5.55 ERA in 12 appearances) and Tommy Szczepanski (0-1, 10.80 ERA in ten appearances) are the leading returners on the bullpen, with Louisville transfer Josh Klug (3.00 ERA in four appearances) possibly seeing a bigger role.
