The Cardinals are coming off of a College World Series appearance last season.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After wandering the wilderness for a few years, Louisville has firmly re-entrenched themselves as a national power in college baseball. As such, this was reflected in the ACC's 2026 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll, The Cardinals were voted to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the league's 16 head coach, garnering 196 total votes in the poll.
The highest UofL has been picked in the ACC preseason poll since they were designated as the league's co-favorite in 2023. Georgia Tech was picked as the ACC preseason favorite, receiving seven of the 16 first place votes. North Carolina and Florida State were the two teams picked ahead of Louisville, while Clemson rounds out the top five.After previously missing out on the NCAA Tournament three times in a four-year span, Louisville was able to bounce back in spectacular fashion last year. The Cardinals finished their 2025 campaign with a mark of 42-25, culminating in their sixth appearance in the College World Series There is reason to believe that head coach Dan McDonnell, who is entering his 20th year with the program and sports an overall record of 793-358-1, can guide UofL to a seventh trip to Omaha in 2026. Louisville has one of the best returning corps of position players, headlined by preseason All-Americans Zion Rose, Lucas Moore and Tague Davis. Additionally, of the 561.0 innings pitched by Louisville players last year, 351.2 of them - or 62.7 percent - are back for the 2026 season. The first pitch of the 2026 season is set for Friday, Feb. 13 at 3:00 p.m. EST, when Louisville hosts Michigan State at Jim Patterson Stadium for a weekend series.McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic
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