A Louisville baseball freshman is gaining notoriety nationally heading into the 2026 season.
I’ll admit to being a little late to this one, but for good reason. I wanted to see if Louisville baseball’s Kade Elam would make any other freshman lists. Regardless, after media day, the team is incredibly high on Elam’s potential and the way he’s arrived on campus.
They aren’t the only ones, however, as D1 Baseball has him on their ‘Top-50 Second Basemen’ list at number 49. It’s safe to say that Kade Elam has the eyes of everyone on him to make a huge impact this year.
Listen to what his teammates had to say about him at Media Day:
A professional approach, maturity, and the ears of everyone perking up just at the mention of his name. I think it’s safe to say that Louisville baseball fans are in for a treat this season.
I think after Media Day it’s also safe to say that Elam will see the field at Second Base for sure, moving Bayram Hot to where he was destined to play – the Hot Corner. If your last name is Hot, and you play Third Base, you have fate on your side.
Kade Elam is the next great Louisville freshman
As a senior out of Corbin High School, Elam was named the 2025 Kentucky Mr. Baseball. He hit .453 with four home runs, 11 doubles, 39 RBIs and 20 stolen bases on the season. A two-way player, Elam was also 4-1 with a pair of saves and a 0.74 ERA, striking out 39 batters in 28 1/3 innings on the mound. He comes to Louisville with ability to play the infield as well as pitch, much like Tague Davis did last season in his own Freshman campaign, albeit with limited time on the pitcher’s mound (just 3.0 complete innings).
Per Perfect Game, Elam graded out as a 9/10 (which translates to top-10 round potential in the MLB Draft), and was the #5 prospect in Kentucky and #436 Nationally. If you are used to following recruiting from a Basketball perspective, that may seem like too high a number, but considering the sheer number of high school baseball prospects across the country, and the size of baseball rosters in college, as well as guys who sign pro contracts after high school – Elam grades out very high nationally.
Being thought of already as a Top-50 prospect at his position (this season, as he could shift to Shortstop once Alex Alicea turns pro) is high praise for anyone, let alone a guy who has yet to take the field in a college baseball game.
Feeling good about Louisville baseball
I’ve been reserved in some of my excitement for this season, given the way Louisville has sputtered in recent seasons (they were the #10 seed in the ACC tournament last season and a #3 seed in the #1 overall seed Vanderbilt’s regional) before catching fire and making it all the way to the bracket final of the College World Series.
However, as I’ve spoken with more fans about expectations, I haven’t felt this good about a Louisville team since 2020. Again I tell you, that team was going to win it all, and I don’t think anything could change my mind on that.
From a sports perspective, that was the worst part of COVID, was taking that team and that season from us. This team, with its load of talent and returning experience, as well as guys like Kade Elam, deserves for people to feel about them how we felt about that 2020 team.
The Cardinals start the 2026 season against Michigan State this week on Friday, February 13th with the UPDATED first pitch scheduled for 2:00pm.
