Louisville Baseball 2024 Season Preview

With the 2024 college baseball season on the horizon, let's take a look at what we should expect this year from the Cardinals.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The calendar has now flipped into the month of February, and that means only one thing: a new season of college baseball is just around the corner.

After putting together a 31-24 campaign last season, one where they missed the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and the ACC Tournament for the first time ever, the Louisville baseball program will be looking to bounce back in a major way in 2024.

Head coach Dan McDonnell will be entering his 18th season with the program, sporting an overall record of 719-309-1. The Cardinals also return pitching coach Roger Williams, who has been with McDonnell at 3rd & Central since day one, as well as hitting coach Eric Snider and assistant coach Adam Vrable, both of whom are entering their 10th seasons at Louisville.

The first pitch of the 2024 season is set for Friday, Feb. 16 at 12:00 p.m. EST against Indiana State down in Tampa, Fla., with their home opener set for Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs. Xavier.

Offseason Primer

Louisville is no stranger to losing talent year in and year out due to the amount of high level ball players they produce on a regular basis, and this offseason was no exception.

The Cardinals wound up losing four players to the 2023 MLB Draft. Shortstop Christian Knapcyzk was taken in the fifth round, left-handed pitcher Tate Kuehner was selected in the seventh round, right-handed pitcher Ryan Hawks was right behind him in the eighth round, and catcher Jack Payton was drafted in the 10th round.

Louisville also lost a handful of players to the transfer portal, most notably left-handed pitcher Greg Farone. The Cardinals didn't lose nearly as much production as they did last offseason, but they did see their top two hitters by batting average and three of their top four pitchers in terms of total strikeouts depart the program in one form or another.

Fortunately, Louisville is bringing in plenty of talent in place of the players who are moving on. The Cardinals were able to manage to not lose any high school signees to the MLB Draft, and brought in the No. 10 class in the 2023 cycle according to Perfect Game. This includes five top 250 prospects, and two in the top 100.

Additionally, for the first time since the inception of the transfer portal, McDonnell opted to bring in transfers that weren't from the JUCO ranks. Four players wound up joining the Cards via the portal this offseason.

Even with the amount of contributors returning and the talent coming into the program, Louisville has not been generating the preseason hype that they have been accustomed to under McDonnell. As of this writing, the Cardinals are unranked in all of the major college baseball polls.

As far as the schedule goes, it's another hefty one, as it includes 30 games against 2023 NCAA Tournament teams. The non-conference portion is highlighted by the annual home-and-home series with Kentucky, the Battle for the Barrel at Vanderbilt, a late season matchup with Indiana, and a round robin event in Tampa to kick off the season. In ACC play, the Cardinals host Virginia Tech, NC State, Virginia, Clemson and Notre Dame; while traveling to Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami, Boston College and North Carolina.

Now that we're caught up, time to get into the actual team.

Position Players

Louisville might have lost their two best hitters from last year's squad, but they do bring back multiple contributors and have a fair amount of depth in the field overall. In fact, the Cardinals return eight of their 11 qualified hitters (2 PA/G, 75 percent of games played) from the 2023 season.

Arguably the strongest area of the field for the Cardinals is in the outfield. All three regular starters from last season - J.T. Benson in left, Eddie King, Jr. in center and Isaac Humphrey in right - are back for another go round.

Benson (.288, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 16 SB) is the top returner from this bunch, and he gives Louisville a lot of versatility both at the plate and in the field. He has the defensive chops to man both left and right field, could theoretically hit leadoff or cleanup, and is their top returning base stealer.

As far as ceiling goes, King (.274, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 11 SB) might have the highest out of any position player on the team and has true five-tool potential. After missing his true freshman campaign in 2022 due to an Achilles injury, he had a handful of dazzling moments during his first season of action last year, and looks to build on that after a good showing in the Cape Cod league last summer.

Humphrey (.246, 3 HR, 24 RBI) had a down 2023 season, but has shown in the past that he is a capable commodity. His solid mix of contact, speed and some power was on full display in 2022 during his first season as a full time starter, where he hit .328 with five homers and 38 RBI along with 11 stolen bases. He just has to recapture this form, and also continue making strides defensively.

Louisville isn't super deep in the outfield, but there are a few capable players behind the starters. Former Kentucky Mr. Baseball winner Patrick Forbes (.258, 3 HR, 19 RBI) saw some time between the outfield and DH even though he's more so suited for the infield, former Trinity star Korbyn Dickerson could be in for an impactful sophomore campaign after not playing as a true freshman, plus Michael Lippe and Lucas Moore looked good during the Pizza Bowl.

Moving on to the infield, Louisville retains the majority of their production at the corners. Over at first base, their top power hitter from last season in former JUCO product Ryan McCoy (.247, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 34 BB) is back after leading Louisville in RBI and walks, plus tying Jack Payton for the most homers on the team.

While the lefty has plenty of raw power, he needs to continue becoming a more well-rounded hitter after he hit just .200 in conference play and led the team in strikeouts with 65. Plus the Cardinals aren't nearly as deep here with Will Cook entering the portal.

At third base, Louisville has two productive options here in Logan Beard (.282, 7 HR, 34 RBI) and Brandon Anderson (.295, 1 HR, 25 RBI), with the two splitting starts at the position over the season. Beard also saw plenty of time at second base in 2023, but is likely going to stay at third due in part because of some defensive struggles (eight errors in 2023) and the addition of Marist middle infielder Dylan Hoy.

Beard's ability to hit for both contact and power more than justifies keeping him in the lineup, but if defensive issues continue to persist, he could ultimately see an increased role at DH. Especially if Anderson continues to make strides following his true freshman campaign where he put on display his abilities as a contact hitter with some gap power (eight doubles in 2022) and was a better defender than Beard.

Knapczyk might be off to the big leagues, but the middle infield for Louisville still has some quality options. After spending most of his time at second base last season, Gavin Kilen (.265, 0 HR, 18 RBI) slides over to shortstop for 2024. His stat line might not jump off the page, but he is one of the most patient hitters on the team, posting the least strikeouts among Louisville's qualified hitters with just 14.

Hoy, who is one of Louisville's two transfer newcomers in the field, is shaping up to be the everyday second baseman for the Cardinals in 2024. He's a very patient hitter who knows how to work the count and the strike zone, as evidenced by his .277 batting average and 95-to-75 strikeout to walk ratio during his four years at Marist. He is coming off of a 2023 season where he hit just .245, but he appears to have made a seamless transition to Louisville during the fall, as he was voted as one of the five captains.

Last season, Louisville experienced a rash of injuries at catcher that helped play a role in the Cardinals ultimately missing out on both the NCAA and ACC Tournaments, as they had to play McCoy at the backstop for a handful of games. As a result, this position was going to be their top need for 2024, and they went out and got a good one in Luke Napleton.

Napleton put up video game-like numbers during his junior year with Quincy University (D2). He slashed .352/.421/.824 in 2023, driving in 29 home runs, 87 runs batted in, 18 doubles while also drawing 27 walks. His home run, RBI, total base (187) marks led all of Division II, with his slugging percentage coming in at eighth. While these numbers are to take a but of a dip with the transition to the ACC, his power and arm accuracy behind the dish is something that the Cardinals should be able to rely on.

Will Vierling and Matt Klein are both catchers who are in the process of bouncing back from respective injuries, but Louisville does have a pair of highly-talented true freshman catchers in Zion Rose and George Baker. Rose was regarded as the No. 75 prospect in the Class of 2023 by Perfect Game, while Baker came in at No. 248, and both could see early playing time during the non-conference portion of the schedule.

At first glance, this is a crop of position players who doesn't have an obvious star heading into the 2024 season. But while there aren't any preseason All-Americans on the roster heading into the new year, Louisville doesn't seem to have a glaring weakness in the field, and has a decently balanced starting lineup with a fair amount of depth and experience to boot.

Pitching Staff

While Louisville's starting lineup wasn't shaken up too much, they have a lot more questions regarding their pitching rotation and staff overall. Last season, the Cardinals struggled to find more than two consistent starters in their weekend rotation, and one of them was Hawks, who is now in the Major Leagues. Fortunately, this was one area where McDonnell opted to utilize the portal, pulling two viable starting options.

The most noteworthy portal pitching pickup is Sebastian Gongora, who joined the Cardinals via Wright State. The left-hander is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign, one where he was named the Horizon League's Pitcher of the Year. In 16 starts, Gongora posted a 10-1 record and 3.17 ERA, while striking out 89 batters and walking only 33 over 93.2 innings pitched. Gongora also picked up East-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team honors.

The other transfer who figures to be a fixture in Louisville's pitching rotation is Lewis University (D2) right-hander Jake Karaba. He was even more prolific than Gongora was, striking out 119 batters and walking just 20 over 66.2 innings pitched, while also logging a 1.62 ERA and 7-2 record in 11 starts.

Of course, right-hander Carson Liggett (3.42 ERA, 71.0 IP, 64 K, 29 BB) will ensure that Louisville's likely weekend rotation won't consist entirely of transfers. He worked his way into the rotation towards the end of the 2022 season, and was one of Louisville's more consistent pitchers last year.

A couple other pitchers who have a shot to become a starter, especially during midweek games, are left-handers Evan Webster (3.09 ERA, 35.0 IP, 36 K, 9 BB) and Riley Phillips (4.08 ERA, 35.1 IP, 46 K, 24 BB). Webster was Louisville's go-to middle reliever last season, but did start a couple midweek games and cracked the weekend rotation during the final week of the regular season against Florida State. Phillips earned a pair of weekend starts during the opening month and two more during ACC play, but largely served a bullpen role.

Speaking of the bullpen now let's take a look at that. Whomever between Webster and Phillips does not earn a starting role will likely earn the title of go-to relief pitcher. Beyond those two, Louisville has several options at their disposal.

Tucker Biven (4.81 ERA, 33.2 IP, 26 K, 21 BB) had a solid true freshman season, while Will Koger (4.81 ERA, 24.1 IP, 25 K, 16 BB) and Kade Grundy (5.60 ERA, 35.1 IP, 31 K, 15 BB) both flashed potential in their sophomore season. A wildcard here is Forbes (7.71 ERA, 9.1 IP, 10 K, 15 BB), who despite struggling from the mound last season, the two-way product oozes potential. Kaleb Corbett (1.69 ERA, 21.1 IP, 22 K, 14 BB) had a bounce-back 2023 campaign, and looks to be Louisville's go-to closer.

Also, don't be surprised if a pair of true freshmen wind up carving out sizable roles this upcoming season. Right-hander Parker Detmers, the younger brother of Reid Detmers, is the No. 113 prospect in the 2023 cycle according to Perfect Game, while left-hander Colton Hartman is No. 42.

Bottom Line

At first glance, it's understandable why Louisville isn't generating a lot of preseason hype. Whether it's at the plate, on the mound or in the field, it's not a team that sports the proven star power that most Cardinals teams under McDonnell typically do. Not to mention that missing the NCAA Tournament twice in a three-year span doesn't help.

But dig past the surface, and you start to see that Louisville has very real potential to make some noise in the ACC. Not only is it a veteran team that brings back a lot of production, they added a fair amount of experience and talent to that mix, and several players have that breakout star potential if things come together.

Of course, everything does have to come together, and things will get very difficult once they have to face the likes of Wake Forest, Clemson, North Carolina and others in ACC play. That being said, Louisville does have a high ceiling in 2024. They just have to realize that potential.

Projected Starters

Position Players:

1. Dylan Hoy (2B)
2. J.T. Benson (LF)
3. Ryan McCoy (1B)
4. Eddie King, Jr. (CF)
5. Luke Napleton (C)
6. Logan Beard (3B)
7. Brandon Anderson (DH)
8. Isaac Humphrey (RF)
9. Gavin Kilen (SS)

Pitching Rotation:

1. LHP Sebatian Gongora
2. RHP Carson Liggett
3. RHP Jake Karaba
4. LHP Evan Webster

(Photo of Eddie King, Jr.: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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