Aprile Adds Two Transfers
Louisville softball had an underwhelming year this past season, and they'll lose a couple of key names from that roster. As a result, restocking the cupboard will be task one for Coach Holly Aprile as she looks to improve on last season's results. She got off to a quick start on that front, signing two transfers already. Louisville announced the additions of Bri Despines and Camryn Lookadoo to next year's roster.
Despines is a rising junior originally from Creve Coeur, Illinois. She arrives at Louisville after two seasons at Kent State. Last year, Despines was named All-MAC second team, which came after being named to the MAC All-Freshman team in 2023. Despines will look to step into the role left by the previous transfer catcher who graduated, Kylie Goff. Despines started both seasons at Kent State, so this is a move all about stepping up in competition. Last season she hit .338 with a .408 on-base percentage. As part of her 53 hits, she had 11 doubles, two triples, and three home runs. She walked 18 times. Behind the plate, Despines fielded a .992 fielding percentage, posting just two errors against 25 assists. She had just one passed ball and caught opposing base stealers on 11/53 attempts.
Next comes another transfer in the growing Kentucky -> Louisville pipeline. This one is a bit more interesting. After non-native Kentuckians Izzy Harrison and Chelsea Mack came over last season, Louisville brings in a home-grown player in Camryn Lookadoo. Lookadoo is a rising sophomore from Georgetown, KY. She won district titles with Great Crossing in 2021 and 2022 and a regional crown in 2023. As a senior, she led off and hit .471 with only two strikeouts on the season. In 2018, she lettered for Scott County High School's 2018 championship team while only a seventh grader. As a freshman at UK, the infielder saw limited playing time, getting into only seven games. She had two putouts and three assists on five defensive chances, but she failed to record a hit in six at-bats, striking out twice. When used as a pinch runner, she scored two runs. Like Mack and Harrison, Lookadoo will be seeking an expanded role at UofL where she will hopefully return to the form she had in her high school days.
Despines and Lookadoo will hardly be the last transfers we'll see this season (likely out as well as in), so the roster has a lot of shaping up still to do. We'll see how the gaps get filled as the summer rolls on.
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We're without Daryl today, as she tries to beat the heat on the golf course in the yard. We'll still have four on board for this week's show as the news grows thinner but the fall draws nearer. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!
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