ADVERTISEMENT

Louisville Baseball: National Signing Day

mattsefcovic

Moderator
Moderator
Jan 12, 2020
276
429
6
Coach McDonnell and the Louisville coaching staff have put together another impressive recruiting class. According to Perfect Game, the Cards are ranked #7 overall and second in the ACC behind Florida State, who is ranked 6th. The top five schools are all from the SEC.

National Signing Day for college baseball isn't near as exciting as football since most of these classes are filled up many years in advance. The only thing to keep an eye on is who will sign professionally rather than showing up on campus next fall, which is nearly impossible to predict until the draft is over. This years class only has one player ranked in the Top 100, which means there is a good chance the majority of the class will end up wearing a Louisville jersey. For example, Florida (7) and Vandy (8) have no idea what their class will end up looking like when the draft is completed. It's never a bad thing to have some of the best players committed, but roster management can become very challenging for the staff not knowing who will actually end up on the roster.
 
Austin Bode officially signed with the Cards today as the 228th ranked player in the class. Bode is a left handed hitting OF/C from Columbus, IN. The state of Indiana has been awfully good to Coach Mac since he’s been at Louisville, hopefully the trend continues as this class features how me
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky and PHCARD
Jack Tinberg, from Overland Park, KS, signed with the Cards this morning. Kansas isn’t generally an area where Louisville recruits, but this class contains two signees from Kansas. Tinberg, a 6-1 195 lb 1B/LHP, is ranked outside of the top 500 in the class, but ranked 6th in the state


Here’s a short clip of Tinberg’s approach to the plate from this summer:
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky and PHCARD
Carson Liggett, high school teammate of Jack Tinberg, also signed with the Cards this morning. Liggett is a 6-1, 205 lb RHP that has recently been clocked at 93 MPH, which I’m sure will continue to rise as he develops under pitching coach Roger Williams when he gets to Louisville. Liggett is ranked #275 in the class according to Perfect Game.


Here’s a little clip of Liggett on the mound:
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky and PHCARD
Local star and highest ranked member of the class, Daylen Lile, has signed with the Cards. Lile, the 54th ranked player in the class and #1 player in the state, attends Trinity HS. There’s no doubt Lile can play at the next level, the main question is whether or not we see him in a Louisville jersey before his professional career begins. Only time will tell.


Nathan Rode calls Lile the “best pure hitter in the country.” Strong words.

https://twitter.com/nathanrode/status/1293019713300242432?s=21
 
The next signee for the Cards is Adam Dowler, a 6-3, 200 lb LHP from Aurora, IL. Dowler is ranked outside of the top 500, but is ranked #9 in the state of Illinois, another state that has treated the staff very well over the years. Dowler was clocked earlier this year at 87 MPH.
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky
The next signee comes to Louisville via Bardstown as the 178th ranked player in the class. Will Koger, a 6-2, 180 lb RHP/OF/3B, has the potential to be a two way player in college. As he builds to his lean frame, I expect his velocity to continue to increase from his current max of 93 MPH. His dad is his high school coach at Bardstown.


Take a look at Koger this summer:
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky
Eddie King Jr. from Marian Catholic HS in Illinois, signed with the Cards this afternoon. King, a 6-2, 190 lb OF/1B is ranked #431 according to Perfect Game.


Heres a clip of King taking batting practice this summer:
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky
Ethan Wood, the fourth highest signee for the Cards in the class has officially signed. Wood, a 6-7 215 lb RHP from Danville, is the 165th ranked player in the class. He uses many different arm angles (3/4 and sidearm) to throw different variations of pitches with a fastball that tops out at 94. I think Wood could be the star of this class when we look back in a few years.


Here’s a sneak peek of what we can expect to see from him down the road:
 
The next Cardinal off the board is Will Cook, an IF/RHP from Miamisburg HS in Ohio. Cook is ranked outside of the top 500 in Perfect Game but PBR has him #2 in the state of Ohio, which is ahead of Kurtis Reid, who Perfect Game has 150th overall. Baseball rankings, man. He has a long, 6-5 190 lb frame that has been clocked in the low 90’s. Here’s a clip of Cook in September:
 
One of the most intriguing players to me in this class is Kade Grundy. He’s just an all around athlete that plays football, basketball, and baseball for Somerset HS. Perfect Game has him ranked the 216th overall player in the class. He’s played IF/OF and pitches, but projects as a pitcher at the next level with 93 MPH fastball. Remember his name.


Here’s Grundy touching 94 this summer:
 
  • Like
Reactions: earsky
RHP/1B/OF Landen Looper signed his official paperwork today. Looper, from Lincoln-Way East HS in Illinois, is ranked outside of the too 500 according to Perfect Game, but has the tools to develop into a solid part of the rotation in a few years. He has a big frame, 6-3 210 lb and his fastball currently maxes out in the low 90’s. Very athletic and some say he has the potential to be a two way player in college.
 
Noah Smith, the 2nd highest rated commit in the class and #102 in the country, has signed with Louisville. Smith, from Chicago, has a ton of potential playing both SS and 2B at 6-2 185 lbs, has been described as having “loads of athleticism” by Perfect Game. Put a star by his name, he has the potential to be a special player. Now we wait and see if he makes it to campus, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
 
Jaxson Davis from Lexington ChristianAcademy, made it official Saturday afternoon, signing with the Cards. Go ahead and get used to this family, because his younger brother, Brady, is the #58 prospect in the class of 2024 and is also committed to Louisville. Jaxson has a big frame, 6-4 215 lb, primarily plays OF but has pitched in HS as well. He is ranked 197th overall in the class of 2021 and 8th in Kentucky.


Here’s a clip of Davis:
 
Of the 19 members in the class, I have been able to confirm that 13 have signed. As I continue to get information on the other 6, I will update this thread.
Matt, thanks for the update! Not trying to be a Debbie downer but given the nature of kids allowed to have another year of eligibility, how does signing such a large class of recruits affect the current roster? I know there’s talk of a JV team but knowing that the NCAA hasn’t increased the number of baseball scholarships, I wonder how this plays out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PHCARD
Matt, thanks for the update! Not trying to be a Debbie downer but given the nature of kids allowed to have another year of eligibility, how does signing such a large class of recruits affect the current roster? I know there’s talk of a JV team but knowing that the NCAA hasn’t increased the number of baseball scholarships, I wonder how this plays out.

I was wondering the same thing. CDM doesn’t just have a baseball roster, he will have an entire army barrack. Let’s hope life goes back to normal soon. I can’t see young kids skipping the college experience if MLB is at a standstill come Feb.
 
I’ve said this before, but if Daylen Lile is anything like his brother in personality, he will be a class act and great representative of this university. I served on a board with Danny while at U of L and he was a great leader and man. I wish all of these guys the best in their future endeavors, whether that be in the pros or at U of L.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mattsefcovic
Matt, thanks for the update! Not trying to be a Debbie downer but given the nature of kids allowed to have another year of eligibility, how does signing such a large class of recruits affect the current roster? I know there’s talk of a JV team but knowing that the NCAA hasn’t increased the number of baseball scholarships, I wonder how this plays out.
That’s the million dollar question right now, but unfortunately we don’t have an answer. One thing to keep in mind is that the class that just signed will essentially have two “senior” classes leaving campus when they show up next year. The current senior class is huge because of the normal seniors, plus the second year seniors since they were able to come back for one additional year. This doesn’t help a ton, but it does free up a handful of extra spots. We will also have a few current players transfer (Andrew Benefield already has.)

19 is a pretty typical class size for the staff. Of the 19, you’ll probably have one or two that will opt to enroll elsewhere (they’ll see the writing on the wall - see Trace Willhoite from last years class), you’ll lose one or two to the draft, and the rest will show up. The last few class sizes have ranged from 15-22. Baseball is a numbers game due to the scholarship limitations, but CDM has a plan.

All that to say, it always works itself out. Kids will come here to sit for a few years to have the opportunity two play their final two years. To recruits, it’s worth the coaching and exposure to get them to the next level.
 
Braden Calise, a one time Florida commit, has signed with the Cards. Calise, a two sport athlete from John Carroll Catholic HS in Fort Pierce, FL, is a rare commit for Louisville from the sunshine state. He was named the Palm Beach Player of the week in October for his performance on the gridiron. He’s a MIF with a ton of athleticism, once ranked just outside of the top 250 in the country. Not to mention, he’s been clocked around 90 MPH on the mound. Don’t sleep on Calise, he could be special in a few years.
 
The Cards class is nearing completion as Brandon Anderson inked with Louisville on Friday. Anderson, a SS from Madison Central HS in Richmond, brings a big 6-4 frame that could be used at many positions in the infield in college. He was not ranked in the Top 500, but PBR described the left handed hitting shortstop as having “huge upside.”

The class has only 3 commits left that have not signed.

 
  • Like
Reactions: nccardfan
Who are the three?
I apologize, I just now saw this. The remaining three are Dane Hall (1B from Miamisburg, OH,) Kyle Walter (RHP from Minooka Community HS in Illinois,) and Camden Jordan from Cathedral HS in Indianapolis. I just spoke with Jordan, I’ll post an update on him below.
 
Camden Jordan has in fact signed with Louisville. He is probably the most dynamic athlete in Cards class and was just named the Mr. Football WR in Indiana. Jordan has received multiple offers to play G5 football, including Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, etc but received a lot of interest from Minnesota. All this to say, he has the talent to play both if he chooses to. As of now, the plan is to only play baseball, but he has developed a relationship with Gunter Brewer and the baseball coaches are okay with him playing both if he decides to. According to Perfect Game, he is the 370th ranked player in the class as an OF.
You can see the athleticism he brings in this clip. Imagine the ground he’s going to cover in CF. Sheesh.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: PHCARD and SoulSr
I just caught up with Dane Hall, one of the remaining commits that hasn’t signed. He is recovering from a surgery and is currently weighing his options as far as where he is going to play next year. I’ll provide an update once I hear anything definitively.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT