New Volleyball Commits -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Announce Three New Commits

One might say that the Dan Meske Era has now officially begun. Louisville volleyball has, over the last week, co-announced (along with the players) three new commitments via social media. These will be the first players in the pipeline to join the Louisville program under their new head coach, so it's exciting to see how Meske is seeking out the next talent to step onto the floor for the Cards. All three are 2027 recruits. 

The first announcement came from Carsyn Comer. Comer is a 6'-2" right hander who is listed primarily as a middle blocker. The 2027 recruit hails from Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana and plays her club volleyball for Munciana, based out of Yorktown. Comer's parents were both collegiate athletes at the University of Toledo: her mom played basketball while her dad played football. Comer was a 2023 AAU All-American and was on the 2024 JVA All-National Team for U17 players. 

Next came Elizabeth Bower, from Nampa, Idaho. Bower is a 5'-9" defensive specialist/libero who plays for Skyview High School and Idaho Crush. Bower also comes from an extremely athletic family, with her father being a D1 basketball player and her mother a D1 volleyball player. Elizabeth is following in her three older sisters' footsteps as she looks to play at the collegiate level: Whitney is an assistant coach at Utah and is a setter in the PVF, Eden is an OH at Auburn, and Alex was on the All-Big 12 Freshman team last season for BYU. 

The most recent commitment came from Keilani Ledaja-Brewer. Keilani is a 6'-0" outside hitter from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Cards pull her from the backyards of Tobacco Road, so that's certainly a win. Ledaja-Brewer lists herself as "confident, a leader, and a cheerleader for [her] team" which is something that Louisville volleyball fans love to see from their players. VBadrenaline.com gives her approach touch a 9.8/10 rating, so we may have another player on our hands that can leap out of the gym. 

All in all, Meske's tenure is shaping up to be exciting before it even truly gets underway. The Cards will be looking to maintain the momentum from their successes last season, though there is only one way to top finishing as the national runners-up. 

Until next time, go Cards!

Case 

Char Lorenz transferring -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers and Happy Juneteenth, 

Daryl here checking in midweek with you all.  Case was swamped with work and the University of Louisville observes the federal holiday so we opted to swap the coverage. 
 

Softball

Some UofL sports news and some rather devastating to the Cardinals softball program, star freshman from Munster Indiana, Char Lorenz announced Wednesday afternoon that she was transferring out to head south to LSU. 

 She played in 50 games, all starts, primarily in left field lingering somewhere around 2–4 in the lineup. She also led team in batting average at .368%, slugging .677%, and 53 RBIs. Lorenz broke the single-season freshman record with 53 RBIs on the year, tallied 15 multi-hit games and a team high 15 multi-RBI games, hit 9 home runs, 11 doubles, and 5 triples. She stole 13 bases and committed just 3 errors for a .967 fielding %.

Photo: Jared Anderson

I dont think any of us at Cardinal Couple expected this news coming out of softball but honestly not surprised either.  I can see the opportunity for the small town native to get a big shot in the SEC and a better payday after a stellar first year at UofL.  We are sad to see her go but wish her nothing but the best... unless its against the Cards!! 

With that news, reminder the roster also graduated Sam Booe, Izzy Harrison, Maddi Grant and Ally Alexander and picked up two pitchers out of the state of Ohio, Anna Wise and Madi Reeves.

Ps. shoutout to my dog Jack, its his 16th birthday today!! 

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Cards Field Hockey Lands Three on CSC At-Large Academic All-District Team

 Bianco, Plumb, Osborne named to CSC At-Large Academic All-District Team

The qualifications for making the College Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-District Team are being at least a sophomore academically and athletically at carry at least a 3.5 cumulative grace point average. The women's at-large team consists of the following sports: beach volleyball, bowling, rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, and water polo. Women's athletics at UofL participates in four of these 12 sports  on the DI level...rowing, lacrosse, golf and field hockey. 

Let's look at the three "stick girls" that were named to the All-District team.

--Izzy Bianco is a senior midfielder out of Berlin, New Jersey. Athletically last season she ranked second on the team with five goals and three assists for 13 points. 

Aimee Plumb

--Aimee Plumb is a redshirt senior midfield/forward from Canterbury, Kent England. It is the fourth consecutive time that Plumb has been on the CSC At-Large Academic All-District Team. She finished her career at UofL as a three-time All-American, and scored four goals her final team. 

--Ashley Osbourne is a graduate senior as well. She was a defender out of Ballard High School in Louisville, KY. She was a starter as a junior and graduate senior, and played six games as a senior before getting injured as missing the rest of the season. 

The Field Hockey Cards went 6-11 overall last season and 1-7 in conference play. The 2025 season starts Friday, August 29th against Michigan State. They'll have two exhibition games prior to that against Bellarmine and at Miami (OH). 

paulie

Istanbulluoglu and Walz Joining Turkiye Women's National Team -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Elif to Play and Walz to Help Coach

Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and current player Elif Istanbulluoglu have been selected to be a part of the Turkiye Women's National Team for 2025 FIBA Women's Eurobasket. Elif is one of 17 players named to the roster. Walz was named an assistant coach. The event will be held from June 18-29 and will take place in Czechia, Germany, Italy, and Greece.

Elif is a rising junior for Louisville. She saw an increased role during her sophomore campaign, averaging 10 minutes per game and seeing action in all 33 games. She averaged 3.0 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game and had a strong shooting percentage of .442 field goal percentage.

Walz has been the head coach for Louisville for 18 seasons. He has amassed 486 wins and boasts an impressive .769 win percentage. Walz has guided Louisville to all four of their Final Four appearances in program history.

While the 2025-2026 Louisville women's basketball schedule has not been released yet, we know for certain that the Cards will host both South Carolina and Kentucky this season. With Monique Reid assuming the head coaching duties at Bellarmine, we hope to see a crosstown rivalry scheduled either as an exhibition or as a regulation game.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

2025 WSOC Schedule Announced -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Hello readers! 

Daryl back with you to cover the joy and excitement of UofL Women's sports.   This time 2 weeks ago, we had no schedules on the athletics website but as of today, there are now two full fall sports schedules listed on the gocards website!  

Photo: Jared Anderson

The Soccer squad is coming off coming off a 2024 season where they went 7-6-5.

The program announced the Cardinal's 18-game schedule and it is highlighted by 11 home games at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. The Cardinals were 6-2-3 in games played at Lynn Stadium a season ago.                 

UofL will start the non-conference season out on the road for the first time since the 2019 season. Louisville will start the season with 2 SEC opponents starting with Auburn on 8/14 and Vanderbilt in Nashville on 8/17. It will be just the second meeting all-time against Auburn and the first meeting against Vanderbilt since 2019. In that match, the Cardinals knocked off the #9 Commodores 1-0 in OT.

The Cardinals will return home to begin a 6-game homestand the following week. The Cards home opener is set for 8/21 against Detroit Mercy and will close the week with a matchup against Wright State on 8/24. It will just be the second meeting all-time between the Cardinals and Detroit Mercy while the Cards have won the last 3 matchups against Wright State. 

The next week features home games against USC Upstate on 8/28 and Coastal Carolina on 8/31. It will be the first time the Cardinals have faced both teams in program history.

The homestand will conclude the following week after matchups against Kent State on 9/4 and Dayton on 9/7. The Cards are 1-0-1 all-time against Kent State and have won four of the last five games against Dayton.

ACC play begins with a road match against Florida State on 9/11 before the Cards return home for three-straight matches. Louisville will square off against Virginia Tech on 9/14, Clemson on 9/19 and Miami on 9/22, all at Lynn Stadium. The Cards are 4-3-2 all-time against the Hokies and 7-2-1 all-time against the Hurricanes.

A 3-game road swing follows the homestand as the Cardinals will travel to Notre Dame on 10/3, Wake Forest on 10/9 and Boston College on 10/12. The Cardinals forced a scoreless draw against 13th-ranked Notre Dame last season and are unbeaten in their last three matchups against Boston College.

Two of the final three games will be at home as the Cardinals host Virginia on 10/18 and SMU on 10/30. The final road game of the season will be in between those games as the Cards travel to NC State on 10/23.

Make is a great week!

As Always,
Go Cards!
~Daryl 

The Cards in WNBA in 2025 -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HINES-ALLEN, EVANS AND ENGSTLER IN WNBA

Following former Cards in the WNBA..the 2025 participants are Myisha Hines-Allen (Dallas Wings), Dana Evans (Las Vegas Aces) and Emily Engstler (Washington Mystics). With all the 13 teams having played at least none games now, let's take a look at how the past cards are doing in the "W".

Hines-Allen enter her eighth year in the WNBA. The first seven were with the Washington Mystics,but she wears the Dallas Wings jersey in the 2025 season. After 12 games,the Wings are at 1-11 and in seventh place in the WNBA Western Conference and has the worst record ni the league.  Hines -Allen is averaging 21 minutes a game, and scoring 6.7 ppg. She's pulling down 5.6 rebounds a game. The Wings lost yesterday to the Las Vegas Aces 84-88.

Track and Field's Newest National Champion -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Synclair Savage Wins Long Jump

Louisville track and field has a new national champion, as Synclair Savage became the fifth outdoor national champion in program history on Thursday by winning the women's long jump. The redshirt senior has had an incredible season after returning from injury, and she has now capped off her career in the best way possible. Savage has been on a mission late in the season, and her determination and clutch gene were on display Thursday. 

Photo via GoCards

Savage entered the competition seeded in eighth of the 24 participants after she set a program record in the NCAA East Regional two weeks ago. Entering her final attempt at the leap, she stood in fourth. All she did with the last jump was set a new personal best, breaking her own school record, and moved to the top of the list. Her jump of 6.72m (22'-0 3/4") cleared second place by just one inch, though Savage was actually less wind assisted in her jump (+0.7 vs +1.4). The #1 seed had the same advantage as Savage, so her jump was just a heck of an effort. Savage's new PB broke her old program record by three-and-a-quarter inches! A huge congratulations to her for the new hardware. 

Jayden Ulrich had her first attempt at a championship come up a bit short, but she finished fourth in the women's shot put. That result is good for All-American honors, but I'm sure Ulrich will be slightly frustrated to come home one position off the podium for the second year in a row. Ulrich was able to improve on her throws from both the ACC Championships (17.56m) and the East Regional (17.97m), but her 18.26m throw in the NCAA Championship wasn't quite there. She was a quarter of a meter behind third (18.5). In fairness to the competition, Ulrich would have needed an almighty heave to finish better. Ulrich's personal best in the shot put is an 18.66m throw, which would have only been enough to move her up to third, as second was 18.85m and first was a whopping 19.01m. The gold medalist was Mya Lesnar, daughter of the former UFC Champion and WWE wrestler, Brock. 

Louisville currently stands at 4th in the team points, as Savage and Ulrich's results were supported by a 12th-place All-American finish for Ashley Callahan in pole vault and a 24th-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase by Layla Roebke. Roebke had a great season, peaking with a personal best 9:49.08 in the event in the East Regional, but the conditions weren't favorable on Thursday as she came home at 10:14.24. 

Photo via GoCards

The Cards still have Lucy Fellows, who started the heptathlon yesterday, and Jayden Ulrich's second attempt at a championship in discus to go. Ulrich enters the discus throw with the NCAA leading throw this season, so she'll look to stay on top as the competitors work to unseat her. Louisville looks on pace for an incredible team finish, which would be a great way to honor all that everyone on the team has done this season. 

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After Paulie and I returned last week, we hoped to keep the momentum going this week, but unfortunately scheduling hasn't worked in our favor. We'll be off again this week with an eye on returning to the show next week with a larger crew on hand. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

CARDS WBB TO FACE SOUTH CAROLINA IN 2025 ACC/SEC CHALLENGE -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WILL HOST GAMECOCKS IN CHALLENGE

Louisville women's basketball has never been known to back down from a challenge, and it looks like they may have an early one on the schedule when Dawn Staley brings her South Carolina Gamecocks to the KFC YUM! Center to face Walz and the Cards in the ACC/SEC annual challenge.

The national runner ups will come to town on Dec 4th. An official tip time and TV designation has yet to be determined. 

This will be the third year of the challenge for the squads...the Cards previously faced Oklahoma and Ole Miss in the past and are 1-1 overall in the challenge. South Carolina is 2-0...beating North Carolina and Duke. 

South Carolina's 2025-2026 roster is a formidable one, with returnees Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, Maddy McDaniel, Joyce Edwards, Chloe Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins, Maryam Dauda  and Adhel Tac. Transfers in Ta'Niya Latson and Madina Okot will bolster the roster and freshmen Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer could play significant roles as well.

Dawn Staley has already booked an impressive early schedule...with a trip to USC on Nov 15th and Texas, Duke and UCLA in Las Vegas to close out November. The Gamecocks have also scheduled trips to play Florida and Kentucky in December. 

Kitts will cause problems for the Cards. The 6'2 senior forward was the SEC Tournament MVP last season and draws this compliment from Staley..: 

"She's a dawg playing this game and has become what we projected she could be when we first recruited her". 

Kitts on playing for the Gamecocks:

"You have to realize you go through highs and lows. You might have a good stretch of games...you might have a horrible stretch of games. You just have to try and find a healthy balance and believe that every thing is going to be OK." 

Overall, South Carolina is 18-4 against the Cards 

paulie

 

Field Hockey Schedule Announced -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2025 Headlined by Hosting ACC Championship

Usually when we get schedule announcements, it means that the season is right around the corner. That isn't quite the case this year, as the Louisville Field Hockey schedule page boasts a countdown that still has over 70 days until the next matchup. Nevertheless, it's exciting to see the schedule announced already, and we can begin to look at what the season might bring for the Cards. Louisville will play a 17-game schedule, with eight of those being in conference. Trager Stadium will cap off the season by hosting the ACC Field Hockey Championship for the first time since 2017. That event will be held November 4th through the 7th. 

The Cards will play 10 games at home during the regular season before hosting the ACC tournament, and they'll play their traditional home scrimmage against Bellarmine to open the year. The Bellarmine scrimmage is a bit unique this season, as the Cards will also take on the Knights later in the year. Bellarmine represents Louisville's only non-conference game once the conference schedule starts, which is a bit of a departure from years past. As you may recall, the expansion of the ACC, and therefore the expansion of the schedule, means Louisville plays eight conference games per season now, up from the six it has been since the Cards joined the league. 

Last year, after Louisville's conference opener against Stanford, they still had Ball State, Ohio State, and UC Davis on the calendar. Those games afforded Louisville the opportunity to get away from the brutal ACC (although Ohio State was no slouch). This season, though, the Cards will play eight of their nine non-conference games before heading to Palo Alto on September 26th. The Cards welcomed Stanford to the league last year with a 2-0 Louisville victory. It turned out to be Louisville's only win of the season in conference play, so they'll look to repeat their winning performance against the Cardinal but parlay that into more conference success in 2025. 

In non-conference play, Louisville will (after scrimmaging Bellarmine at Trager and Miami (OH) in Oxford) open the season by bringing in Michigan State and Ohio University. The Spartans went 8-10 last season and matched Louisville's 1-7 conference record. The Cards are 7-9 against MSU all-time, but while Louisville has won the last five meetings, the teams haven't played since 2019. Coincidentally, MSU did play at Trager last season, but it was in a road matchup against Bellarmine. MSU had six common opponents with Louisville last year (which isn't terribly surprising since the Cards had a B1G heavy schedule), and they matched Louisville's 2-4 record in those games with wins over UC Davis and Ball State and losses to Cal, Maryland, Ohio State, and Northwestern. Ohio (who defeated MSU 3-2 last year) is a team with which Louisville has a rich history. The two have squared off an incredible 41 times since first playing in 1982. Ohio owns the series at a stunning 28-13 clip, but most of those victories were early in the Louisville program. The Cards have won seven straight and nine of ten, with the last meeting being a a 6-0 Louisville win in 2021. The Bobcats were 7-11 last season with a 3-5 MAC record.

Louisville's first road trip will be to Bloomington, Indiana, where the Cards will face Drexel and IU. The matchup against Drexel will be just the second meeting all-time between the Cards and Dragons. Louisville lost the first game 2-1 in 2011. Drexel was 14-5 last season and went 6-0 in conference before their dream year was derailed by a shocking upset against Monmouth in the first round of the CAA tournament which caused them to miss out on an NCAA bid. Three of their four non-conference losses were against ranked teams (Maryland, U Albany, and Saint Joseph's) and the fourth was an overtime loss to Yale. IU also lost in the first round of their conference tournament, falling to the eventual B1G Champion, Michigan. Louisville didn't play IU, who went 9-9 (4-4) and missed the NCAA tournament, last year, but they won the last meeting in 2023 1-0. The Cards are 18-7 against the Hoosiers all-time and have won the last ten matchups. 

The game against IU starts a four-game B1G stretch for Louisville, with the next three coming at home. The Cards face a gauntlet just before conference play, taking on defending national champion Northwestern, Iowa, and Ohio State. Louisville lost 2-0 in Evanston and 4-3 (OT) in Columbus last season, and last played Iowa in 2023. The Cards beat the Hawkeyes 2-1 in that game and are 9-6 against Iowa all-time. Louisville's record against the Wildcats is in the Cards' favor at 9-5, but they're 5-5 in the last ten and have lost two straight. Louisville is 13-19 against Ohio State. After the B1G portion of their schedule, they'll get no real break before playing Stanford, as they hit the road to play Saint Joseph's, last season's NCAA runners-up. 

Conference play begins on the road on September 26th, with a single game weekend against Stanford. Louisville returns to Trager to face Wake Forest on October 3rd and plays Bellarmine on Tuesday October 7th. They'll then grab a bus to North Carolina to play Duke on the 10th for their third game in eight days. UNC on the 12th makes it four games in 10 days and Louisville will be begging for a breather. 

A bye week would be nice, but Louisville does at least get a single game weekend at home against Cal to follow. That game will be on Friday, October 17th, and they'll get a week in Louisville afterwards before playing Virginia at Trager on the 24th. It's an early Friday game, as the Cards have an interesting getaway day from a home Friday match. Louisville travels to Boston College for the Sunday matchup on October 26th. The final regular season game of the season is a Saturday Senior Day against Syracuse on November 1st. 

It'll be a big year for Louisville as they look to recover from a rather disappointing 6-11 (1-7) 2024 season. The Cards won't have an easy road ahead, but they'll get it all started before we know it. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

What will losing Nyla Harris mean to Louisville WBB-- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HARRIS "FEELS FREE" AGAIN AFTER LEAVING CARDS TO GO TO UNC

Harris in her new "Carolina Blue"

Nyla Harris was one of five Cardinals WBB players to play in all 33 games in the 2024-35 season. She was the fourth leading scorer on the UofL team, but the second leading leading rebounder. You read that right, she outrebounded all Cards WBB players but graduated Olivia Cochran. 

Grace Mbugna is a powerhouse rebounding machine coming in as a freshman

A lot of teams would go into panic mode after losing their top two rebounders. And, yes, it may affect the Cards at first, but consider that Louisville has 6'4" Isla Juffermans back and adds 6'4" Grace Mbugna (Danville Christian), 6'3" freshman Yevhenia Putra (Ukraine), 6'2" senior Laura Ziegler (St. Joseph's) and still has 6'3" sophomore Anaya Hardy on the roster. Height wise, the Cards will be just fine on the front line. The Cards also have super sophomores Taj Roberts and Mqc Randolph returning. 

In Harris' case, it was going to play her senior year at a school that was the first to express interest when she entered the transfer portal and also, in UNC, one of the schools that was in her final five when she was an incoming freshman.  

In Harris's words..."I'm happy again...I feel free. I'm going to be real again and not in a box anymore. The decision to go with UNC is 10 times better and I will be able to shine on the court. The biggest thing, going into my senior year, is happiness and being surrounded by players who care about me."

She'll be the third tallest player on the roster for the TarHeels, behind 6'5" sophomore Bianca Thomas, who averaged 2.4 points a game last year and 6'4" redshirt sophomore Ciara Toomey, who averaged 3.2 points per game.  

Taj Roberts is posed to have a incredible sophomore season

The Cards will miss Harris a bit, but when you have the powerhouses Mac Randolph, Taj Roberts, and several other transfers coming in, Walz has restocked the front line "cupboard" instead of leaving the shelves empty.  With six players 6'3" or taller, rebounding should be the least of Louisville concerns in the 2025-26 campaign. No one rebuilds better than Jeff Walz

Sometimes. players go. All you can do is thank her for the years she gave the Cards and wish her the best in her decision. 

paulie

Softball Adds Pitcher for 2026 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Madi Reeves Joins Cards From Miami OH

Photo from GoCards

As hinted at in yesterday's post, Louisville softball had plans of another roster change. Lo and behold, the announcement came pretty quick. Right-handed pitcher Madi Reeves joins the Cards from Miami (Ohio) and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Reeves earned several awards in her two seasons with the Redhawks including MAC Freshman of the Year, All-MAC First Team, and NFCA All-Region Third Team.

In her young career, Reeves has thrown 40 complete games in 83 outings. She has compiled a 3.36 career ERA and 361 total strikeouts in 418.1 total innings pitched. She led the NCAA last season in innings pitched.

Photo from GoCards

She joins a stacked bullpen alongside Alyssa Zabala, Brooke Gray, Lindsey Mullen, Ryann Sanders, and recent transfer Anna Wise. The long list of experienced pitchers should help relieve any pressure or overwhelming duties from any individual player.

There have been whispers of a key player from last year's team entering the portal, but nothing has been confirmed nor has that player's name been given. We will keep you updated if we hear any more information on this or if it is nothing more than just a rumor.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

A Trip to the Ballpark -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Monday, Cards fans! Daryl is out enjoying her vacation with a drink in hand while sitting poolside. In the meantime, I am taking over for today.

We don't cover the men's sports at Louisville, but we certainly want to extend a congratulations to Louisville baseball on their weekend victory and earning a trip to the men's College World Series in Omaha. I spent my weekend out at the ballpark, and you wouldn't believe who you might run into out there.

I bumped into quite a few familiar names and faces on the weekend. One person I was glad to run into was recent Louisville volleyball alumna Anna DeBeer. She was happy to be back on campus for a little and plans to spend much of the summer in Louisville before playing some international ball in the fall. She will use this as a way to stay in shape in preparation for her second season with the Indy Ignite. Anna mentioned she is pretty much entirely healthy minus a little stiffness at times.

I ran into a couple of our field hockey players Gigi Edwards and Rosie Tricase. They mentioned the team was already looking solid, even for spring ball. There was also excitement for the new assistant coach, who recently joined the team. 

Ulmer Stadium, home of Louisville Softball

I got to have an extended chat with a few of our current softball players and alums including Ally Alexander, Easton Lotus, Bailee Richardson, and Paige Geraghty. Alexander mentioned that she'll be staying with the Cards, but will transition into a graduate assistant role. She's excited for a chance to stay with the program. There was also indication that there could be further changes to the roster but no information was given if that meant we would see additions or subtractions to the team.

Our women's sports are enjoying summer break right now, but many of them will probably make their way back to campus sometime in July for practices and training. We plan to have plenty of in-depth coverage as their respective seasons start.

Happy Monday and Go Cards!

Jared

ZaKiyah Johnson leads Kentucky High School Basketball All-Stars to Win -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ...

JOHNSON'S 34 POINTS LEAD KY ALL STARS TO DOUBLE O.T. WIN OVER INDIANA

We've known for a long time here at Cardinal Couple just how good graduating Sacred Heart senior and LSU bound ZaKiyah Johnson is. Once again, last night in Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse, she rose high above the rest of the players and scored 34 points to lead the KY Girls Basketball starts to a win (and sweep) over the Indiana squad.

 It took awhile...a double over-time 106-103 Kentucky win, but Johnson got the KY squad to overtime and eventually secured the win. She was fouled trying a three-pointer to tie the contest, sent to the free throw line with seven seconds to go in regulation...and sank all three free throw attempts. 

ZaKiyah Johnson

Johnson is headed to LSU for college (we wonder just wonder how long she'll be able to play for Kim Mulkey) and, once again...SEC NIL money has made the recruiting game more of an auction to the highest bidder than any school loyalty for the best players in the high school game...and even transfers by college kids out of Louisville and other schools in the state are lured to programs waving dollar bills. 

A noted college coach mentioned awhile back that N.I.L. had ruined the college game and the decision Johnson to go to the SEC bears fruit to that statement. We've even seen it in other UofL women's sports , like softball...where Korbe Otis left for a more lucrative NIL at Florida, and we are getting unconfirmed rumor that Cards pitching ace Alyssa Zabala may be on the move again, too. 

But, it was the Kentucky High School GBB stars night to shine last night and in addition to Johnson's big night, an Indiana star had a big evening. Maya Makalusky, out of Hamilton Southeastern had 29 points and is headed to I.U. for her college career. 

Headed to Louisville from the game and a KY All-Star is 6-5 forward/center Grace Mbugna, out of Danville Christian. Also headed to Louisville from the game is Peyton Bradley, out of Meade County. Bradley says:

"I've always dreamed of playing at the next level and Louisville felt like home the minute  I stepped on campus. The programs tradition, the coaching staff's energy and the way they push their players to grow...it's everything I wanted. I can't wait to compete in the ACC and give it my all." Bradley averaged 28.2 ppg a game in her senior year after coming back from an injury that kept her on the bench her junior year.

CCHRP RETURNS TO PODCASTING

It has been nearly a month since the last CCHRP podcast (those pesky commitments and vacations kept getting in the way) but Paulie and Case handled the Jun 7th version and discussed the lull in most UofL activities for the WBB program this time of year.

Hear the boys at the link below:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hiatus-leads-to-summer-slump/id1532090880?i=1000711947781

Check out Case's Saturday article for more links. 

paulie

Minor Departure from UofL Sports -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Texas Thumps TTU in Championship Rubber Match

Louisville softball missed out on the postseason this year, but we're in the midst of the summer doldrums here at Cardinal Couple and the Women's College World Series was quite the event this year. Plus, with Louisville baseball's upset in Nashville the super regional coming back to Jim Patterson Stadium, diamond sports are on the mind. Last night, in a winner-take-all game three of the WCWS Championship Series, Texas proved why having a single arm that you depend on solely to get you through the postseason may not be the answer. They jumped on NiJaree Canady for five runs in the first inning (with some help from the defense) before ultimately putting Texas Tech on run-rule watch at 10-0 and going on to win 10-4. 

The championship is Texas softball's first, but not for lack of trying. Since their first season in 1997, the Longhorns have made it to Oklahoma City eight times, and they were tied for the most visits without a championship before they won this season. They also had to watch their rivals in Oklahoma win it all four times in a row. To make matters worse, the team the Sooners beat for two of those four straight championships were the Texas Longhorns. That's just an almighty sting. The Longhorns got some payback as they beat OU in OKC for the first time last Saturday to help knock the Sooners out of contention. 

This season's WCWS brought all kinds of eyes to the sport, as OU went for history, Texas made a strong push, and TTU brought the first million-dollar softball player to Omaha. Tennessee and UCLA had their own fun as rules and reviews came into play across the event (including last night), and the NBA Finals coming to OKC during the championship series brought even more stars out to the games. 

Now is a great time to be a softball fan, and it would be an even greater time for Louisville to get over the hump and make some noise in the postseason. Louisville doesn't need to bring a million-dollar pitcher into the program to help them do that, but they can still put together an exciting roster and find a way to make it farther than anyone expects. Ole Miss was the only unseeded team to make it to OKC this season, but TTU was the 12-seed and Oregon was the 16. You just have to get into the postseason to give yourself a chance. Hopefully 2026 sees more for the Cards. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're finally back this week, but it'll be a two-man show. Paulie and I will bring you the latest in Louisville women's athletics, although that isn't much. We may not go the full hour, but we'll still do our best to find as much joy and excitement as we can in the summer slump. Check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Campus update -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning readers, checking in with you before heading out for vacation.  Looking forward to the break from the work force.   

UofL definitely slowed its hiring but the medical residents are currently moving to town and in the process of onboarding.  I've been managing a large load at work to prepare for the influx and my vacation as well. 

As Case covered yesterday, WBB is adding to the coaching staff and I look forward to meeting them sometime soon. 

With the recent administrative changes, UofL is currently going through some major shifts in the dynamic of the institution.  Technically, my department has been eliminated and I am moving to a different one.  We shall see how the chips fall in the coming weeks.  

I've been enjoying the College World Series between Texas and Texas Tech which was forced to a game 3 last night and the Cards Baseball program was able to bring the post season back to town so whether you're heading out to the ballpark or watching the championship from the couch, enjoy the weekend!

As Always, 

Go Cards

~Daryl

WBB Adding New Assistant -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Walz Set to Replace Steph Norman 

After 18 seasons with Jeff Walz at UofL, Steph Norman departed at the end of the 2024-25 women's basketball season to return to her alma mater of Arizona State. It was a bit of a surprise to everyone, but Norman is taking a bit of an elevated role at ASU as the Associate Head Coach and Director of Basketball Strategy. That type of title is becoming more commonplace as NIL funds and relaxed transfer rules fully set in and change the landscape of college athletics by requiring more management of the team and players. I think Norman will do well, and wish her nothing but the best, but it left Louisville with a gap on the bench. 

Enter Brittany Morris. Morris will enter as an assistant coach under Walz after spending the past four seasons at NC State working with Wes Moore. Morris is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and coming to Louisville will mark her first major departure from the state since she left to play her collegiate ball at Seton Hall. Morris played for the Pirates from 2009-2013 and finished with a career-record 178 made three-pointers, including a school-record 78 in her senior season. She was the 20th-leading scorer in program history when she graduated and she started all 62 games at point guard in her junior and senior seasons. 

After graduating from Seton Hall, Morris made a stop in Virginia on her way back to the Tar Heel State, working as the video coordinator at Virginia Tech in the 2014-15 season. After that season, she returned to her home town of Raleigh to serve as a graduate assistant for two seasons at NC State. Her first true coaching gig came in the 2017-18 season, when she joined UNC-Wilmington as an assistant. She was there for three seasons and served as the team's recruiting coordinator in the latter two. Morris moved over to East Carolina for the 2020-21 season as an assistant before getting the call from Wes Moore to return to Raleigh. Morris has been an assistant coach for the Wolfpack since the 2021-22 season, and was largely responsible for the guards, which includes names that many know such as Diamond Johnson, Saniya Rivers, and Aziaha James. 

Morris's exact role with Louisville will become clearer in the coming days/weeks, but it seems likely that Jeff Walz has settled his staff. I suspect that Amanda Butler will move into the Associate Head Coach vacancy and others will fill in the chairs behind her. As the Cards look to build on the success of last season, one of recovery for Louisville, it will be interesting to see new faces on the bench. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case 

Aces vs Storm --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 DANA EVANS CONTRIBUTING TO ACES

We love to follow our Cardinals who make it to women's pro leagues, and surely there is no larger pro woman's league than the WNBA.

On the Las Vegas Aces, former Cardinal great Dana Evans is on the squad, and she is contributing...not as a starter for the 4-2 Aces, but a significant contributor off the bench. Last night, in the Aces Sunday 75-70 win over the Seattle Storm, Evans played 21 minutes and scored nine points and dished out three assists.

The 5'6" Evans entered the league as the 13th overall pick by the Dallas Wings back in 2021. She almost immediately was traded to the Chicago Sky, and was on the 2021 All-WNBA rookie team. Back in February of 2025, she was dealt to the Aces in exchange for the 16th and 22nd draft picks for Chicago in the 2025 WNBA Draft.  

The Aces picked up a player in Evans that was part of the Sky's 2021 WNBA Championship team....but,her playing time decreased in 2024, as she was demoted from a starter to a reserve and she negotiated a trade that sent her to Las Vegas. She played in 134 games in four years at Chicago and averaged 6.2 ppg. The Gary, IN native was a fn favorite with the Sky. .

With the Aces, Evans is a backup guard on a roster that has Jewell Loyd and Chelsea Gray starting at guards and features Aja Wilson at center/forward..

.Evans is one of three former Cards WBB stars playing in the WNBA this season. Myisha Hnes-Allen is at Dallas, and Emily Engstler plays for Washington. 

We wish all our Cards in the WNBA the best of success and hope they have great seasons..

paulie 

Softball Picks Up Pitcher in the Portal -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Diamond Cards Add Anna Wise

Photo courtesy of GoCards.com

Louisville softball picked up a pitcher in the transfer portal over the weekend. Anna Wise, a left-handed pitcher from Ohio University, will have three years of eligibility remaining.

As a freshman, Wise earned All-MAC Second Team honors and was named to the MAC All-Freshmen Team. She was one of the top two pitchers for the Bobcats. Wise posted a 2.86 ERA with 64 strikeouts and just 29 walks. She appeared in 30 games, earning 21 starts. 

She will join a bullpen alongside Alyssa Zabala (RHP), Brooke Gray (LHP), Lindsey Mullen (RHP), and Ryann Sanders (RHP). Having a rotation of several experienced pitchers will give Holly Aprile and pitching coach Griffin Joiner quite a bit of flexibility on who to put in the circle and to avoid overworking any single pitcher.

We will see a healthy mix of left-handed and right-handed pitchers next season. In an ever-evolving game that tends to favor offense, having a mix of pitchers can keep batters on their toes. This also can offer an advantage when you want to look at a left-handed pitcher to go against strong left-handed batters.

Softball Championship Set

While we are on the topic of softball, the NCAA Championship is set. In the first game of the day, Texas shut out Tennessee 2-0 in a pitching duel. It was followed up by Texas Tech hitting a walk-off sacrificed fly to defeat Oklahoma 3-2. The Sooners had won four straight softball titles and six of the last eight.

Other Louisville Sports

Photo courtesy of GoCards.com

While we do not cover the men's sports at Louisville, we do want to congratulate Louisville baseball on their postseason success as they have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals. 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

When to anticipate Fall Sports Schedules -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Morning readers, 

The Cardinal Couple crew is rotating weeks of summer vacations as Paul was able to hit the road for a couple days and I will be headed south of here later this week.   

Photo: Jared Anderson

As of Sunday evening, still no fall sport schedules available on the gocards website but I'm sure that we will be hearing from the programs relatively soon in that regard.  

Last year, 
we got a volleyball schedule in early May, the women's soccer schedule the first week of June so it seems like there must be some finer details being worked out.  We didn't get the field hockey schedule until the first couple days of July 

So for now we will continue to watch as rosters take shape.  The new coaching staffs are also getting acclimated too.  

As Always, 
Go Cards

~Daryl 

Paulie in Gatlinburg --- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 YOUR FEARLESS SITE OWNER IN BEAR COUNTRY

Yep, it;s summertime and ol' Paulie and Sonya are on a well deserved vacation to one of our favorite haunts...Gatlinburg. So, what brings us back this year? To catch up with friends and get away after some hectic medical issues.  

Thanks to my kidney clinic for hooking me up with a "sister clinic" in Newmarket,TN., 45 minutes outside of Gatlinburg. The majority of the drive there on Wednesday and Friday was tied up in the traffic in getting to I-40 from Gatlinburg, going thru Pigeon Forge and Sevierville is never a fast drive...but we saw some beautiful scenery and one of the technicians at the clinic there cued us in on "the back way to get back to Pigeon Forge" and it really made the drive a lot less congested. 

We arrived Monday night and had a wonderful meal that evening at Crystal Creek.  Our server was engaging, a transplant from Boston who resettled down here several years ago. We had a lot of fun comparing the Boston College programs and Louisvile and he admitted that we had the best WBB coach by far in Jeff Walz. 

Tuesday we had a leisurely breakfast at Little House of Pancakes and then explored the Arts and Crafts community on the south side of Gatlinburg. The shops were all interesting and, dummy me, I left my walking cane in Louisville but found a great one at a shop on the Arts and Crafts Loop. We also founf a delightful coffee shop on the loop named Gatlinburg Grind and highly recommend it if you get down here. Our dinner Tuesday night was at The Best Italian Restaurant (the original one) located just off the main drag in Gatlinburg and the Shrimp Alfredo was a fantastic entree that I enjoyed immensely. Sonya got the eggplant parmesan and enjoyed it too. 

Wednesday started with another great breakfast at Little House and then after a day of sightseeing in NewMarket and Gatlinburg, we dined at the Split Rail on the art loop and had a great dinner there with fried chicken and slaw for me and fish tacos and fries for Sonya. Ww slept extremely well Wednesday night.

Thursday we took a drive to Cades Cove and toured the area. Traffic was as heavy as I have ever seen it there and noticeably slowed down when ever a bear or elk were spotted in the distance. We returned early and had an early dinner at DeLauders BBQ which was out of this world. The pulled pork was excellent and his sides are out of this world with green beans, slaw, and a baked potato as huge as you'll find in any restaurant. Another night of sound sleeping. 

Friday after my clinic visit, we returned to Gatlinburg and explored more shops on the loop. One of our favorite restaurants changed their name from Three Jimmy's to Smokehouse Jimmy's but the food was still fantastic. The Grind Burger is a humongous burger with all the fixin's , Sonya had the pulled chicken with baked beans and cinnamon apples. Don't go there without trying the aplles and lemon pepper pork rinds...what a great appetizer.!

At the Rampart Lion

Saturday we had a full day visiting shops and outlets plus driving the Cherokee Orchard Motor Nature Trail and ended up at the Rampart Lion for dinner. Our old buddy Brian Papworth, of the Fox and Parrot, owns this one also, and while the entrance is closed to the Fox and Parrot for bridge rebuilding,  he is holding fort at the Rampart Lion and we had a great visit with him and his staff of Jodi and Robert. The fish and fried green beans there are out of this world, and make sure you make a stop there.  

Today, we return to Louisville. It was a great getaway and thanks to the Cardinal Couple crew for running the site while Sonya and I were travelling. 

paulie