Friday, February 13
Louisville, Ky.
2:00 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Michigan State
Photo by: Rachel Klotz | Louisville Athletics
Cardinals Host Michigan State to Open 2026 Season
February 12, 2026 | Baseball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 2026 season gets underway on Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium as the University of Louisville welcomes Michigan State in for a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET with games two and three set for Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. All three games will be televised on ACC Network Extra. Radio coverage will be available on 93.9 The Ville on Sunday and 970 WGTK all weekend.
RIDING THE OMAHA HIGH OF 2025
Louisville returned to Omaha and the College World Series in 2025 for the sixth time in program history. The Cardinals posted a 42-24 overall mark before winning the Nashville Regional and punching their ticket to Omaha by taking two-of-three from Miami in the Louisville Super Regional.
McDONNELL BEGINS YEAR NUMBER 20
Friday will mark the start of season number 20 for Dan McDonnell in The Ville. He enters the 2026 campaign as the second-winningest active coach in Division I baseball (.688) and just seven wins away from 800.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN STATE
Louisville and Michigan State have only met three times previously, all three on a neutral field. The Cards have won the last two, winning games in Florida over the Spartans in 2010 and 2012.
TEAM NOTES
PLAYER NOTES
TRIO OF CARDS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Tague Davis, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose each were recognized on preseason All-America teams this spring. All three were on the D1Baseball and NCBWA preseason teams, while Moore and Rose were also members of the Baseball America and Perfect Game selections.
Davis was a Freshman All-American in 2025 after hitting .283 with nine doubles, 18 homers and 52 RBIs. The 18 home runs were tied for the most by any player in the ACC during the regular season and set the Louisville freshman record, surpassing Chris Dominguez' 15 in 2007.
Moore was a second team All-America selection as a sophomore, hitting .341 with 10 doubles, three triples and five home runs. The centerfielder led the team with 92 hits, 85 runs scored and went 53-for-54 in stolen bases. The 53 stolen bases led the country and were the second-most in a single season in program history, and he was the first Power Four player to steal 50 or more bases since Trea Turner in 2012. His 85 runs scored led all Power Four players and ranked second nationally and were tied for the second-most in program history.
Rose proved to be one of the elite power and speed combo players in the country in 2025. The Chicago native hit .310 with 16 doubles, three triples and 13 home runs, while going 31-for-34 in stolen bases. Rose also scored 64 runs and led the Cards with 67 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the ACC in stolen bases, fifth in RBIs, fifth in triples, seventh in runs, 11th in hits and 12th in total bases last year while transitioning to a full-time outfielder.
CARDINALS OPEN SEASON RANKED INSIDE TOP 10
Coming off a sixth College World Series appearance, Louisville will head into the 2026 season ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason polls.
The No. 8 ranking is the highest preseason mark since the Cardinals opened up the 2023 season as high as fifth in the polls.
Louisville was ranked between fourth and sixth in the final polls of 2025.
EXPERIENCED TOP OF THE LINEUP LEADS CARDS INTO 2026
As Dan McDonnell embarks on his 20th season at the helm of the Louisville program, he'll do so with an experienced group atop his lineup.
Juniors Alex Alicea, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose, along with sophomore Tague Davis make up one of the most dangerous offensive quartets in the country. That quartet combined to hit .312 in 2025 with 45 2B, 37 HR, 245 R, 193 RBI and 120 SB.
Moore was an All-American that led the country in stolen bases and finished second in runs, Rose was top 12 in the ACC in six different offensive categories, Alicea was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, and Davis was a Freshman All-American that set the program record for freshmen home runs.
CARDS LOOKING FOR LEAP FORWARD FROM SOPHOMORE ARMS
Louisville had 22 different pitchers throw at least one inning during the 2025 season, 11 of which were true or redshirt freshmen. The Cardinals racked up 220.2 innings from freshmen arms last spring, the fifth-most among Power Four programs according to 64 Analytics.
All but 4.0 of those innings return in 2026, and associate head coach Roger Williams will lean on the sophomore class of arms to take a step forward this spring.
Ethan Eberle earned a weekend spot as a freshman and pitched to a 6-2 record and 4.65 ERA in his first season. Jake Schweitzer was one of Louisville's top bullpen weapons, leading the team with a 2.34 ERA in 25 relief appearances. The Cards also got significant innings from Jack Brown (42.1 IP) and TJ Schlageter (30.1 IP), the latter of which was in his second season after sitting out the 2024 campaign.
CARDS DOMINATING ON THE BASEPATHS
Under Dan McDonnell, Louisville has been among the top teams in the nation in stolen bases. The Cardinals have finished with 100 or more stolen bases in 10 of the last 12 full seasons, including a program-record 162 in 2025.
Lucas Moore led the country with 53 stolen bases last season on just 54 attempts. Moore was the first Power Four player to swipe 50 bags since Trea Turner in 2012, and the only Division I player in the last 20 years with 50 or more stolen bases and just one or fewer caught stealings.
Not to be overshadowed, Alex Alicea and Zion Rose stole 34 and 31 bases last year, respectively. The Cardinals had three of the eight Power Four players that swiped at least 30 in 2025, all three of which are returning this spring.
Louisville was the first Division I team since Texas Southern in 2022 to have one player steal 50 or more and two others steal at least 30 in the same season, and the first Power Four program to do so since at least 2000.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on X, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
RIDING THE OMAHA HIGH OF 2025
Louisville returned to Omaha and the College World Series in 2025 for the sixth time in program history. The Cardinals posted a 42-24 overall mark before winning the Nashville Regional and punching their ticket to Omaha by taking two-of-three from Miami in the Louisville Super Regional.
McDONNELL BEGINS YEAR NUMBER 20
Friday will mark the start of season number 20 for Dan McDonnell in The Ville. He enters the 2026 campaign as the second-winningest active coach in Division I baseball (.688) and just seven wins away from 800.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN STATE
Louisville and Michigan State have only met three times previously, all three on a neutral field. The Cards have won the last two, winning games in Florida over the Spartans in 2010 and 2012.
TEAM NOTES
- Louisville is 14-5 in season opening games under Dan McDonnell, including wins in 10 of the last 12 openers.
- The Cards are 16-3 in home openers during Dan McDonnell's first 19 seasons.
- Louisville has an .815 winning percentage (190-43) in regular season non-conference games since the start of 2016.
- Louisville returns four position player starters from the 2025 College World Series team – Alex Alicea, Tague Davis, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose.
- The Cardinals return 50.4 percent of their at-bats (1119 of 2220), 48.2 percent of home runs (41 of 85), 47.3 percent of RBIs (225 of 476) and 75.3 percent of stolen bases (122 of 162).
- Louisville's pitching staff returns 16 of 22 players that recorded an inning on the mound in 2025, bringing back 63.6 percent of its innings (356.2 of 561).
- Louisville featured one of the best offenses in the country last spring, ranking third nationally in hits, sixth in stolen bases and top 20 in doubles and triples.
PLAYER NOTES
- Lucas Moore had a special sophomore season that resulted in All-America honors. Moore was the national leader in stolen bases with 53, the first Power Four player to swipe 50 or more since Trea Turner in 2012. He also finished second nationally with 85 runs scored, the most by a Louisville player in more than 30 years. Moore enters the 2026 season with a pair of Louisville career records in the crosshairs. The junior is 42 stolen bases and 83 runs shy of Boomer Whiting's career records.
- Zion Rose built on a Freshman All-America season in 2024 with an outstanding sophomore campaign. Rose led the Cardinals with 67 RBIs and ranked fourth in the ACC in stolen bases, fifth in RBIs, fifth in triples, seventh in runs, 11th in hits and 12th in total bases. The Chicago native was one of just three players in 2025 to have 10 homers, 15 doubles, 30 stolen bases and 60 RBIs.
- Tague Davis announced his presence at the plate in 2025, setting the Louisville freshman home run record with 18 long balls in his first season. The first baseman tied for the ACC regular season lead in home runs and was the first Louisville freshman to hit double-digit homers since Alex Binelas in 2019.
- Alex Alicea is the anchor in the middle of the infield for the Cards as he returns at the shortstop position. The junior hit .307 last season despite playing the back half of the season with an injured thumb that forced him to only hit from the left side of the plate. Alicea finished third in the ACC with 34 stolen bases and was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award.
- Wyatt Danilowicz missed all of the 2024 season due to injury before returning to the mound last spring. The southpaw ended up leading the Cards with 28 appearances, posting a 2.70 ERA in 33.1 innings with 52 strikeouts. The 14.04 strikeouts per nine innings would've ranked sixth nationally had he had enough innings to qualify.
- Ethan Eberle worked his way from middle innings reliever to a high leverage bullpen spot, to ultimately starting on the weekends for the Cards as a freshman. The southpaw finished with a 6-2 overall record in 20 appearances, making 10 starts. Eberle started the clinching games in both the regional and super regional rounds, combining to allow just two runs over 11.1 innings in wins over Wright State and Miami.
- Jake Schweitzer was another freshman that watched his role grow larger and larger throughout the 2025 season. The Louisville native had just five appearances and six innings under his belt at the end of March, but the season's final two and a half months saw him take the mound 20 times and pair together with Wyatt Danilowicz to form an elite end-of-game duo. Schweitzer finished with a 4-3 record, three saves, and a team-best 2.34 ERA.
TRIO OF CARDS EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Tague Davis, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose each were recognized on preseason All-America teams this spring. All three were on the D1Baseball and NCBWA preseason teams, while Moore and Rose were also members of the Baseball America and Perfect Game selections.
Davis was a Freshman All-American in 2025 after hitting .283 with nine doubles, 18 homers and 52 RBIs. The 18 home runs were tied for the most by any player in the ACC during the regular season and set the Louisville freshman record, surpassing Chris Dominguez' 15 in 2007.
Moore was a second team All-America selection as a sophomore, hitting .341 with 10 doubles, three triples and five home runs. The centerfielder led the team with 92 hits, 85 runs scored and went 53-for-54 in stolen bases. The 53 stolen bases led the country and were the second-most in a single season in program history, and he was the first Power Four player to steal 50 or more bases since Trea Turner in 2012. His 85 runs scored led all Power Four players and ranked second nationally and were tied for the second-most in program history.
Rose proved to be one of the elite power and speed combo players in the country in 2025. The Chicago native hit .310 with 16 doubles, three triples and 13 home runs, while going 31-for-34 in stolen bases. Rose also scored 64 runs and led the Cards with 67 RBIs. He ranked fourth in the ACC in stolen bases, fifth in RBIs, fifth in triples, seventh in runs, 11th in hits and 12th in total bases last year while transitioning to a full-time outfielder.
CARDINALS OPEN SEASON RANKED INSIDE TOP 10
Coming off a sixth College World Series appearance, Louisville will head into the 2026 season ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason polls.
The No. 8 ranking is the highest preseason mark since the Cardinals opened up the 2023 season as high as fifth in the polls.
Louisville was ranked between fourth and sixth in the final polls of 2025.
EXPERIENCED TOP OF THE LINEUP LEADS CARDS INTO 2026
As Dan McDonnell embarks on his 20th season at the helm of the Louisville program, he'll do so with an experienced group atop his lineup.
Juniors Alex Alicea, Lucas Moore and Zion Rose, along with sophomore Tague Davis make up one of the most dangerous offensive quartets in the country. That quartet combined to hit .312 in 2025 with 45 2B, 37 HR, 245 R, 193 RBI and 120 SB.
Moore was an All-American that led the country in stolen bases and finished second in runs, Rose was top 12 in the ACC in six different offensive categories, Alicea was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, and Davis was a Freshman All-American that set the program record for freshmen home runs.
CARDS LOOKING FOR LEAP FORWARD FROM SOPHOMORE ARMS
Louisville had 22 different pitchers throw at least one inning during the 2025 season, 11 of which were true or redshirt freshmen. The Cardinals racked up 220.2 innings from freshmen arms last spring, the fifth-most among Power Four programs according to 64 Analytics.
All but 4.0 of those innings return in 2026, and associate head coach Roger Williams will lean on the sophomore class of arms to take a step forward this spring.
Ethan Eberle earned a weekend spot as a freshman and pitched to a 6-2 record and 4.65 ERA in his first season. Jake Schweitzer was one of Louisville's top bullpen weapons, leading the team with a 2.34 ERA in 25 relief appearances. The Cards also got significant innings from Jack Brown (42.1 IP) and TJ Schlageter (30.1 IP), the latter of which was in his second season after sitting out the 2024 campaign.
CARDS DOMINATING ON THE BASEPATHS
Under Dan McDonnell, Louisville has been among the top teams in the nation in stolen bases. The Cardinals have finished with 100 or more stolen bases in 10 of the last 12 full seasons, including a program-record 162 in 2025.
Lucas Moore led the country with 53 stolen bases last season on just 54 attempts. Moore was the first Power Four player to swipe 50 bags since Trea Turner in 2012, and the only Division I player in the last 20 years with 50 or more stolen bases and just one or fewer caught stealings.
Not to be overshadowed, Alex Alicea and Zion Rose stole 34 and 31 bases last year, respectively. The Cardinals had three of the eight Power Four players that swiped at least 30 in 2025, all three of which are returning this spring.
Louisville was the first Division I team since Texas Southern in 2022 to have one player steal 50 or more and two others steal at least 30 in the same season, and the first Power Four program to do so since at least 2000.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on X, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP/1B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballGet Ready for the 2026 Season!
Thursday, February 12
Drafted: Patrick Forbes
Monday, July 14
BSB: 2025 Louisville Baseball Super Regional Recap
Wednesday, June 11
Road to Omaha: 2025 Super Regionals
Tuesday, June 10
