Louisville ranked 30th in the nation in the final Learfield Sports Director’s Cup national all-sports standings. The Cardinals were one of eight ACC universities among the top 40, the second-most in the nation from one conference.

Eleven UofL sports programs were ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams at one point during the 2017-18 season including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, field hockey, football, women’s golf, rowing, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming, and women’s indoor track & field.

Seventeen UofL teams or individuals from teams – nine men’s and eight women’s -- participated in post-season competition including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball.

UofL student-athletes amassed over 9,000 service hours through its CardsCARE community outreach program during the 2017-18 year, a total which ranked among the top five in the nation in the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Challenge. The Cardinals have ranked in the top five in service hours for four consecutive years.

Cardinal athletic teams posted a collective 3.204 GPA during the 2017-18 academic year, with 21 of 23 teams achieving a 3.0 or better for the 2017 fall semester. A total of 300 student-athletes were 2017 Red and Black Scholars, representing a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better.

Five University of Louisville athletic teams -- men’s and women’s basketball, women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s golf -– received public recognition through the NCAA Academic Performance Program for ranking in the top 10 percent in the 2013-17 most recent APR, which measures academic eligibility, retention, and graduation for student-athletes.

Women’s All-America swimmer Mallory Comerford captured her second consecutive NCAA Championship in the 200 free to lead the women’s swimming and diving team to a fifth-place team finish. The Cardinals have produced an individual national champion in seven straight seasons.

The men’s swimming & diving program earned a ninth place NCAA finish at the championship.

UofL’s women’s basketball team advanced to their third NCAA Final Four in the last 10 years while posting a program-best 36-3 record. Louisville opened last season with a 20-0 record, which marked the best start and longest winning streak in program history, and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.

Men’s soccer advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the last eight seasons, producing a 13-2-5 record.

Women’s golf finished 15th in the nation after advancing to the final round of stroke play.

Final Records and Rankings

Sport	Top Poll #	Overall
Baseball	No. 5	45-19	18-12	NCAA Regional
Men's Basketball	--	22-14	9-9	NIT Quarterfinal
Women's Basketball	No. 3	36-3	15-1%&	NCAA Final Four
Men's Cross Country	--	--	15th*	NCAA Regional: 18th
Women's Cross Country	--	--	2nd*	NCAA Regional: 5th
Field Hockey	No. 8	14-8	4-2	NCAA Second Round
Football	--	8-5	4-4	TaxSlayer Bowl
Men's Golf	--	--	11th*	NCAA Regional: 9th
Women's Golf	RV	--	7th	NCAA: 15th
Lacrosse	--	6-11	0-7	--
Rowing	No. 20	--	5th*	--
Men's Soccer	No. 9	13-2-5	5-2-1	NCAA Elite Eight
Women's Soccer	--	9-7-2	3-5-2	--
Softball	--	33-20	10-12	--
Men's Swimming & Diving	No. 15	--	2nd*	NCAA: 9th
Women's Swimming & Diving	No. 14	--	9th*	NCAA: 5th
Men's Tennis	No. 32	15-11	5-7	--
Women's Tennis	--	13-13	2-12	--
Men's Indoor Track & Field	--	--	7th*	--
Women's Indoor Track & Field	--	--	3rd*	--
Men's Outdoor Track & Field	--	--	4th	--
Women Outdoor Track & Field	--	--	5th	--
Volleyball	No. 21	24-7	18-2%	NCAA First Round

* Denotes team finish at ACC Championship
% Denotes regular season ACC Champion
& Denotes ACC Tournament Champion

Season Superlatives

Regular Season

Women's Basketball
Volleyball

Tournament

Women's Basketball

Individual

Nicolas Albiero (200 Butterfly)
Maria Astashkina (200 Breaststroke)
Mallory Comerford (100, 200, and 500 Freestyle)
Joe Delgado (Indoor Heptathlon)
Makenli Forrest (Indoor Weight Throw)
Eric Fox (Outdoor Decathlon)
Holly Hankenson (Indoor Pentathlon)
Emmonnie Henderson (Indoor Shot Put)
Grace Oglesby (100 and 200 Butterfly)
Javen Reeves (Indoor High Jump)
Damar Robinson (Outdoor High Jump)
Evgenii Somov (100 and 200 Breaststroke)
Dorcas Wasike (Indoor 5,000m, Outdoor 10,000m)
Men's Swimming 200 Medley Relay (Nicolas Albiero/Carlos Claverie/Zach Harting/Andrej Barna)
Women's Swimming 400 Medley Relay (Alina Kendzior/Morgan Friesen/Grace Oglesby/Mallory Comerford)

Arthur Albiero
ACC Swimming Coach of the Year

Nick Albiero
ACC Men's Freshman Swimmer of the Year

Mariia Ashtashkina
ACC Women's Freshman Swimmer of the Year

Mallory Comerford
ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year

Asia Durr
ACC Women's Basketball Player of the Year

Emina Ekic
ACC Co-Freshman of the Year

Violette Legrand
ACC Freshman of the Year

Wilma Rivera
ACC Volleyball Setter of the Year

Molly Sauer
ACC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year

Jeff Walz
ACC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year

Dorcas Wasike
ACC Women's Track Athlete of the Year

Nicole Woods
ACC Field Hockey Scholar Athlete of the Year; NFHCA West Region Player of the Year

Jaire Alexander
NFL, 1st round/18th overall by the Green Bay Packers

Lamar Jackson
NFL, 1st round/32nd overall by the Baltimore Ravens

Myisha Hines-Allen
WNBA, 2nd Round/19th overall overall by the Washington Mystics

Tim Kubel
MLS, 2nd Round/28th overall by the Toronto FC

Mohamed Thiaw
MLS, 2nd Round/35th overall by the San Jose Earthquakes

Josh Stowers
MLB, 2nd Round/54th overall by the Seattle Mariners

Geron Christian
NFL, 3rd round/74th overall by the Washington Redskins

Adam Wolf
MLB, 5th Round/135th overall by the Detroit Tigers

Devin Mann
MLB, 5th Round/164th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers

Trevon Young
NFL, 6th round/205th overall by the Los Angeles Rams

Riley Thompson
MLB, 11th Round/338th overall by the Chicago Cubs

Sam Bordner
MLB, 16th Round/477th overall by the Miami Marlins

Liam Jenkins
MLB, 17th Round/523rd overall by the Cleveland Indians

Austin Conway
MLB, 31st Round/918th overall by the Chicago White Sox

Bryan Hoeing
MLB, 36th Round/1,066th overall by the San Francisco Giants

Season Summaries

Baseball

The Cardinals closed the season ranked as highly as No. 23 in the final Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll after advancing to an NCAA Regional final for the seventh straight season.

Louisville was 45-19 overall while registering its seventh straight 40-win season. The Cardinals earned an NCAA Championship berth for the 12th time in school history, including the 11th in the last 12 seasons.

A trio of Cardinals earned All-America honors in 2018 – outfielder Josh Stowers, left-handed pitcher Adam Wolf and first baseman Logan Wyatt. Additionally, right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller was a Freshman All-America honoree.
UofL had seven All-ACC honorees and one ACC All-Freshman selection. Louisville has earned seven or more All-ACC honorees in each of its four seasons in the league. The Cardinals have also placed at least one player on the All-Freshman Team all four seasons.
For the third-straight season, Louisville had eight players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, highlighted by second round selection Josh Stowers, who went 54th overall to the Seattle Mariners.

Men's Basketball

Louisville is one of four Division I schools in the nation which has won 20 or more games in each of the past 16 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga). UofL has won at least 19 games in 44 of the last 48 years. The stretch includes vacated on-court victories from four seasons (2011-15).

Louisville faced the nation’s 10th toughest schedule during the 2017-18 season. The Cardinals played 23 of its 36 games against teams that advanced to postseason play, including 17 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament. All but the Cardinals’ season-ending loss to Mississippi State came to teams which participated in the 2018 NCAA field.

Louisville made its 15th National Invitation Tournament appearance in 2018 and its first since 2006. The Cardinals have participated in postseason competition for the 48th time in the last 53 years, including four vacated seasons.
Five Cardinals were named to the 2018 All-ACC Academic Team and the Cardinals have an ACC-best 25 selections over the last four years. UofL and Stanford are the only two Power Five schools in the nation to have perfect men’s basketball multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in at least four of the past five years.
David Padgett, who served as interim head coach for the season, joined Denny Crum (26 wins in 1971-72) and John Dromo (21 in 1967-68) as the only UofL coaches to have won 20 games in their first season with the Cardinals. UofL began a new era when following the 2017-18 season, named Chris Mack as its new head men’s basketball coach.

Women's Basketball

In the 95-90 win over Ohio State, Asia Durr scored 47 points to set the school record. She finished the game 16-of-29 from the floor, 9-of-15 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Her nine three-pointers tied the school record. She was named ACC, ESPNW and College Sports Madness Player of the Week following the performance.

With 17 points against Stanford in the NCAA regional semifinal, Myisha Hines-Allen surpassed 2,000 career points and became just third player in school history with 2,000 points (Shoni Schimmel, Angel McCoughtry). She joined McCoughtry as the only two players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Louisville advanced to its third NCAA Final Four in school history (2009, 2013, 2018) with a 76-43 win over Oregon State. All three Final Four appearances have occurred in the last 10 years under the guidance of head coach Jeff Walz.

UofL swept ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2017-18, marking the first time since they swept the Metro in 1984 that they have swept conference titles. It marked only the second time in history that they have won both. It marked their first ACC Tournament title and their first conference tournament title since they won the Metro Tournament in 1993.

UofL recorded its 36th win vs. Oregon State, which marked the most in a single season. They finished the season with a program-best 36-3 record. The 29 wins marked the most regular season wins in program history and they opened the season at 20-0, which marked the best start and longest winning streak in school history.

Cross Country

Sophomore Dorcas Wasike became the first All-American on the women’s side with a 29th-place finish with time of 20:05.29 at the 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. Wasike closed out a terrific campaign in which she earned All-ACC and USTFCCCA All-Southeast Region awards.

The women's cross country team finished second at the 2017 ACC Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park. It was Louisville's best finish as a member of the ACC, topping last year's mark of fourth. Wasike finished runner-up with a 6K personal-best time of 19:54.1 and earning All-ACC honors. Fellow sophomore Kassidy Manning was also named to the All-ACC team after she placed 15th with a personal-best time of 20:31.2. The Louisville men finished 15th.

The women's team finished fifth at the NCAA Southeast Regional. The Louisville men finished the 10K race with an 18th place finish. Wasike led the women with a fourth place finish. She finished with a time of 20:22.3, earning all-region honors. Seniors Bailey Davis and Mia Ross each earned earn all-region honors as well.

Field Hockey

UofL finished the season with a 14-8 overall record and made its fourth straight and seventh overall NCAA appearance. The Cardinals were ranked No. 8 in the final NFHCA Coaches’ Poll, marking UofL’s 54th straight appearance in the top 20 dating back to the 2013 season.

The Cardinals reached the finals of the ACC championship after defeating No. 11 Syracuse 3-2 in the program’s first ACC quarterfinal victory and following with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win over No. 2 Duke in the semifinals.

Louisville finished tied for second in the ACC regular season standings with a 4-2 conference record and earned the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship. The four ACC wins were the most for the Cards since joining the conference in 2014.

Louisville placed a program-best three players on the Longstreth/NFHCA All-America teams. Ayeisha McFerran and Nicole Woods were selected to the first team, while Taylor Stone was named to the third team.

Nicole Woods became Louisville’s first NFHCA All-West Region Player of the Year in 2017. Joining her on the all-region first team were Ayeisha McFerran, Taylor Stone and Minout Mink. Carter Ayars was selected to the second team.

Football

Louisville registered its sixth-straight season with eight or more wins, capping the 2017 season at 8-5.

Lamar Jackson was named a Heisman Trophy finalist for the second-straight season.

Jackson became the first player in ACC history to win the league’s POY and Offensive POY in consecutive seasons. He set the school’s single-season (1,601) and career rushing yards mark (4,132).

The Cardinals set the school record for yards of total offense (7,084) and rushing (3,186) in 2017.

Men's Golf

Louisville advanced to its 10th NCAA Regional Championship in program history.

The Cardinals won a pair of tournaments, capturing the Louisville Cardinal Intercollegiate and the Warrior Princeville Invitational.

Louisville shot a school-record 56-under-par at the Warrior Princeville Invite. Simon Zach won the Warrior Princeville by shooting a school best 21-under-par 195. Freshman Matthias Schmid was an all-region selection.

Women's Golf

Louisville advanced as a team to the NCAA Championships for the second time in program history, finishing tied for 15th after advancing to the fourth round of stroke play. This year's team broke the four-player team scoring record by more than a stroke, boasting a 293.61 average.

The Cardinals earned their best finish at an NCAA Regional Championship, placing fourth at the event in San Francisco in early May.

Louisville capped the year with three team titles, tied for the most regular-season crowns in program history.

Lauren Hartlage secured Golfweek All-America honorable mention accolades and all-ACC honors after compiling another record-setting season. She set the program's single-season record with 20 rounds even or below par, compiled the second-best stroke average at 72.24, and tied for the second-most top-10 finishes with seven. For her classwork, Hartlage was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Team.

Lacrosse

Senior Emily Howell ranked first in the ACC in ground balls per game, scooping up 2.88 each contest. The senior led the Cardinals with 46 total ground balls this season, and with 128 in her career, ranks third in program history. Against Boston College, she picked up a career high seven ground balls, which also ties for third most ever recorded by a Cardinal in a single game.

After falling behind to Mercer 7-1 with just over 18 minutes left in the first half, the Cards went on a 13-0 scoring run that lasted until the 26:35 mark in the second half. Tessa Chad, Caroline Blalock, Madison Hoover, and Ally Hall each recorded hat tricks, igniting the Cards to a 21-14 win over the Bears. The 21-goal performance tied for the third most ever scored by a Cardinals team.

In the 20-4 win over Butler, the Louisville defense clamped down on the Bulldogs, holding them scoreless through the entire second half of the game. Nine different Cardinals scored in the victory, led by Caroline Blalock and Alex McNicholas with four goals apiece.

In the Cardinals’ game against Denver, Brenna Shanahan tied the school record for most ground balls recorded in a single game with eight.

Freshman Caroline Blalock led the team in seven statistical categories, including goals with 43 and hat tricks with nine. She ranked third in the league in shots with 6.53 per game, and just outside top 10 in goals per game with 2.53 and points per game with 3.24. She also ranked fourth with 1.41 caused turnovers per game and sixth with 2.41 ground balls per game.

Rowing

The Louisville rowing team closed the 2018 season ranked No. 20 in the final US Rowing/CRCA Top 20.

The Cardinals finished fifth overall at the 2018 ACC Championship, highlighted by a bronze medal in the varsity eight grand final.

Sophie Schulz was an All-ACC First Team honoree while Violette Legrand was an All-ACC Second Team selection and was the ACC Freshman of the Year. Schulz and Legrand were named to the CRCA Division I All-Conference Team.

Men's Soccer

The Louisville men’s soccer team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the last eight seasons and earned a No. 7 ranking in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25.

Senior Tim Kubel concluded his final collegiate season as a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American, semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and an All-ACC First Team honoree while scoring six goals with seven assists in 19 matches.

Junior Tate Schmitt was an All-ACC Second Team honoree and a United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team selection while leading the Cardinals with nine goals, including four game-winners.

Both Kubel and Mohamed Thiaw were both selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. Kubel went in the second round to Toronto FC and Thiaw went in the second round to the San Jose Earthquakes.

Women's Soccer

Freshman Emina Ekic made an immediate impact on the Cardinals in her rookie season. She started in 17 matches and led the Cardinals in scoring with 17 points. She also led the team with seven goals on the year and tied for the lead with three assists.

Ekic was named the ACC Co-Freshman of the Year while also earning second team All-ACC honors. She was an ACC All-Freshman team selection as well. Topping her accolades for the season, Ekic also earned first team all-region honors by United Soccer Coaches Association.

The Cardinal defense held opponents to 1.06 goals and 9.2 shots per game during the 2017 season. Louisville finished the year with eight shutouts, including No. 5 North Carolina. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos registered 50 saves for the Cardinals and holds a goals against average of 1.05.

Softball

The Cardinals finished the season with a 33-20 overall record and reached the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship before falling to eventual ACC and national champion Florida State. The 2018 campaign marked the 15th-straight year with at least 30 wins.

On March 4, Louisville defeated Eastern Illinois 6-0 to mark the 700th win in school history - all under head coach Sandy Pearsall who started the program in 2000.

Caitlin Ferguson and Megan Hensley collected NFCA All-Southeast Region honors. Ferguson was named to the second team while Hensley was a third team selection. Hensley and Sidney Melton were named to the 2018 All-ACC Softball first team. Maddy Newman earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors.

Swimming & Diving

Women’s All-America women’s swimmer Mallory Comerford captured her second consecutive NCAA Championship in the 200 free to lead the women’s swimming and diving team to a fifth-place team finish. The men’s program earned a ninth place NCAA finish in the championship. The Cardinals have produced an individual national champion in seven straight seasons.

Comerford was named the ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year, while Nick Albiero and Mariia Ashtashkina were named the ACC Men’s and Women’s Freshman of the Year. Arthur Albiero also picked up Coach of the Year honors.

The men’s team earned 30 All-America honors at the NCAA Championship, while winning four ACC Championships, including the 200 medley relay. Evgenii Somov swept the breaststroke events, winning the 100 and 200.

On the women’s side, the team also earned 30 All-America honors. The team won seven ACC titles, including three individual gold medals by Comerford and two from Grace Oglesby. The 400 medley relay team also won gold at the ACC Championships.

Men's Tennis

The Cardinals finished the season with the ACC Championship with a 15-11 overall record and ranked No. 49 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, their eighth consecutive week in the top-50. Louisville reached as high as No. 32 on Feb. 20.

Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff was named to the all-ACC second team and Parker Wynn earned third team honors. Morin-Kougoucheff earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championship and finished the season ranked No. 69 in the ITA singles rankings. He appeared in the national singles rankings seven times during the 2017-18 season and reached as high as No. 53 on April 17.

The duo of Morin-Kougoucheff and Wynn earned an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Doubles Championship. They appeared in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings 10 times, reaching as high as No. 6 at the conclusion of the fall tournament season and finished the year at No. 25.

Wynn paced the Cardinals in singles with overall mark of 25-10, while going 15-5 in dual match action, primarily playing at No. 2. The two-time All-ACC selection spent nine weeks throughout the season in the ITA singles rankings, reaching as high as No. 90 on March 6.
After leading the Cards to 7-0 shutout victory over Charlotte on Feb. 9, head coach Rex Ecarma earned his 450th career victory. He is one of just five coaches in the history of Louisville Athletics to achieve the milestone.

Women's Tennis

The doubles pair of Mariana Humberg and Abbie Pahz ended the season ranked No. 48 in the ITA National Rankings. The doubles pair of Sena Suswam and Raven Neely ended the season ranked No. 90, making it the first season in school history where two different doubles team earned a national ranking.

Four Cardinals, Tiffany Huber, Mariana Humberg, Raven Neely and Abbie Pahz had 20-plus wins in singles. Three Cardinals had 20 or more wins in doubles led by Mariana Humberg's 27-8 overall record.

The Cardinals finished 13-13 overall and were 11-5 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Abbie Pahz and Mariana Humberg had three upset wins over nationally ranked players and finished 26-6 as a pair.

Track & Field

Dorcas Wasike impressed at the NCAA Championships, finishing runner-up in the 10,000 meters while breaking a 30-year old meet record. The redshirt freshman made her move in the final two laps. She rolled in the final lap to pass the favorite Karissa Schwizer, closing with a 69.2 in the final lap. Wasike finished with a personal best time of 32:11.81, behind Kansas' Sharon Lokedi.

Wasike was named the 2018 ACC Women's Track Athlete of the Year. She won the 10,000 meters at the ACC Championships and the NCAA East Preliminary. She was also runner-up in the 5,000 meters at the ACC Championships, running the final 3000 meters without her shoe. She set school records this season in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.

The Louisville track and field team finished the season with 11 Cardinals earning All-American honors, while three earned honorable mention honors. Seven Cardinals earned Indoor All-American honors while four earned outdoor All-American honors. Jerin Allen, Joe Delgado, Makenli Forrest, Emmonnie Henderson, Holly Hankenson, Alexis Gibbons, and Javen Reeves earned indoor All-American honors. Delgado, Gabriela Leon, Damar Robinson and Dorcas Wasike earned outdoor All-American honors.

Louisville finished with nine ACC Champions. Six Cardinals won event titles at the ACC Indoor Championships: Joe Delgado (heptathlon), Holly Hankenson (pentathlon), Emmonnie Henderson (shot put), Makenli Forrest (weight throw), Dorcas Wasike (5,000m) and Javen Reeves (high jump). Three Cardinals won event titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships: Eric Fox (decathlon), Damar Robinson (high jump) and Dorcas Wasike (10,000m).

Thirty six Cardinals earned All-ACC honors in 2018. Nine Cardinals earned first team honors at the ACC Indoor Championships while six athletes earned second team honors. Eleven Cardinals earned first team honors at the ACC Outdoor Championships while 10athletes earned second team honors. Louisville also tied a school record with 23 athletes qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary.

Volleyball

Picked eighth in the 2017 preseason poll with a first time coach at the helm, Dani Busboom Kelly and the Cardinals battled their way to an ACC Championships, posting a 24-7 record, going 18-2 in the league to earn the ACC automatic qualifier and make the Cards’ 26th NCAA appearance.

The team won two of the conference’s major postseason awards with junior setter Wilma Rivera being named as the 2017 ACC Setter of the Year with teammate Molly Sauer picking up her second ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. Louisville outside hitter Melanie McHenry joined Wilma Rivera on the First Team All-ACC winners, with Molly Sauer, Tess Clark, Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett earning Second Team All-ACC honors.

Wilma Rivera was named as an AVCA honorable mention All American with Busboom Kelly taking the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year honor. McHenry and Rivera were both named to the AVCA All-East Region teams.

Amanda Green and Molly Sauer both earned a berth on the US Collegiate National Team and toured Europe and China respectively. Busboom Kelly was named the head coach of the USCNT-Europe Tour.

University of Louisville Athletics

2017-18 Year In Review

Mallory Comerford

Regular Season

Tournament

Individual