Louisville pitching staff building off elite postseason play

by: Connor Stanley02/08/26ConnorStanleyX

Louisville baseball is riding high after reaching its sixth College World Series and first since 2019.

Led by “the big four” position players, Lucas Moore, Zion Rose, Alex Alicea, and Tague Davis, it’s the Louisville pitching staff that’s flying under the radar entering the highly anticipated 2026 season.

Having a rich history of successful arms, Louisville had recently struggled on the mound, resulting in back-to-back years of missing the tournament. Last season seemed to be another year of uninspiring arms, but that quickly changed when this squad reached postseason play.

Louisville finished with a 4.07 earned run average in the postseason, ranking sixth in the 64-team field. Completely flipping the script and relying on a lot of young arms, this team is ready to build off its hot end of the season.

With a few players leaving for the MLB draft, pitching coach Roger Williams will focus on developing his young talent, while also utilizing his portal acquisitions.

Louisville without some familiar faces

There were few pitchers in the country better than Patrick Forbes last season. The righty led Louisville with 117 strikeouts through 71.1 innings pitched, while also posting a .219 opponent batting average. Classified as an ace, Forbes was drafted 29th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2025 draft. Known for explosive life on his heater, he already boosts the best fastball in the Diamondbacks system, according to Baseball America. Appearing in 41 games in his Louisville career, Forbes will be dearly missed.

Tucker Biven, Justin West, and Brennyn Cutts have also moved on from the program. With many years of service under their belt, this pitching staff took a big hit from their departure.

In mid-April, Biven had an ERA above six. With a heroic end to the season, he cut this number in half, finishing the year with a 3.71 earned run average. Biven only gave up one run in 8.2 innings pitched in the postseason, including none in his 5 innings in Omaha. Coming out of the bullpen in high-leverage positions, Louisville lost one of its reliable late-game relievers.

West and Cutts both had a solid 2025. Finishing in the top eight for innings pitched on the team, they posted solid strikeout numbers while helping in long relief opportunities. West was one of Louisville’s most polished lefty arms last season and was drafted in the 18th round by the New York Yankees. Cutts was the MVC pitcher of the year at Indiana State before transferring to the Cardinals. Expecting to be a consistent weekend starter, he took on more of a role in the bullpen.

With 190 combined innings pitched between the four, the Louisville staff will look at others to fill this void.

Projected weekend starters

Three names stand out when figuring out the weekend starters. Ethan Eberle and Peter Michael are two of Louisville’s leading returning arms, while Jake Bean is a transfer with high expectations.

After a breakout freshman season, Eberle looks to build off his All-ACC campaign. He led Louisville with 6 wins in 10 starts last season. Showcasing his killer curveball and elite command, Eberle finished the season on a high note, striking out 32 batters in his final 23.1 innings pitched. His breakout party came after a nearly perfect outing against Wright State, sending Louisville into a dog pile and on to the Super Regionals.

Michael is the most experienced returning starter. In a massive boost of production compared to prior stops at San Diego and Northwestern, Michael started in 13 games last season, only behind Forbes for most on the team. Before Louisville, he had a 15.68 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched. After throwing 62 strikeouts in 39 innings in the Northwoods summer league, Michael committed to the Cardinals, and it paid off. He put together a solid season, finishing with a 4.83 ERA and a .215 opponent batting average.

Louisville has had recent success with transfer portal players. Bean is the newest member trying to be added to that list. He was a First-Team All-MAC honoree at Kent State in 2025 after finishing with a 6-2 record, 4.20 ERA, and 1.25 WHIP. Playing his summer ball with Orleans in the Cape Cod Baseball League, Bean underperformed, throwing a 5.73 ERA and 4.9 strikeouts per nine compared to his previous 8.6. Trying to get back on track this spring, he will be a big factor in this starting rotation.

A long season is ahead, and rotation changes are inevitable. With a solid bullpen, head coach Dan McDonnell has the flexibility to move players in and out when needed. The tandem of Eberle, Michael, and Bean provides great experience and different pitch styles when attacking opposing batting orders.

Louisville bullpen trying to be more consistent

Louisville has one of the best righty-lefty relief punches in the ACC. Jake Schweitzer and Wyatt Danilowicz held the top two earned run averages on the team while also having the most game appearances last season.

Schweitzer’s 2.34 ERA as a true freshman last year has jolted him into Perfect Games’ top 100 returning sophomores this season. Still young, there is a chance for Schweizer to be used in long-inning relief situations rather than closing opportunities.

Danilowicz’s stellar 2025 earned him the captain badge for his upcoming senior season. Sidelined due to injury in 2024, he had a breakout campaign last year. Known for his high K rate, Danilowicz didn’t allow a single run in his first 12.2 innings pitched. He is an easy choice to be Louisville’s closer in 2026, but he has an opportunity to be a mid-week starter, as does Schweitzer.

Apart from this talented duo, other returning weapons will make coach McDonnell’s life easier. TJ Schlageter, Ty Starke, and Casen Murphy are all lefties who are coming off impressive summers. Schlageter and Starke struggled last season, both having an ERA over five. Trying to get back on track, they played for Wareham in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where they were two of the most dominant pitchers in the league. Schlageter finished with a 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, while Starke had a 2.63 ERA and 0.73 WHIP. Murphy had a similar breakout summer, finishing with a 2.01 ERA in over 20 innings pitched in the NECBL.

Jack Brown, Jake Gregor, and Brandon Shannon are the righties who will be relied on out of the bullpen. Brown and Gregor combined for 50 innings in their true-freshman season. Experiencing some difficult moments, they both saw an uptick in production this past summer. Shannon is one of the few freshmen who will see a significant amount of playing time. Listed as the 63rd-ranked incoming freshman according to Perfect Game, he is looking to put his 12-0 senior year record to the test.

Other pitchers trying to carve a spot in the rotation or bullpen are Parker Detmers and Colton Hartman. Being highly touted high school prospects, they have experienced tough battles at Louisville. Detmers had an ERA over seven in both his collegiate and summer ball days in 2024, but followed that up with a much-improved 16 innings last season. Hartman gave up 27 hits in 17 innings pitched in 2025, but had a strong fall-ball that hopefully reflects a breakout campaign.

Louisville was at an all-time high towards the end of last season. With most of their depth returning to coach Williams’ pitching stable, this team has high expectations.