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Patrick Forbes (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)
The 2025 NCAA baseball tournament super regional round is set to get underway on Friday, June 5.
To get ready, Baseball America presents the ultimate super regional guide with breakdowns of all 16 teams. Check out the full list of super regional previews here.
Louisville Preview
Louisville enters the super regional round as one of the most volatile teams still standing. The Cardinals are capable of beating anyone on the right day but prone to streaky stretches that have driven a 5.48 team ERA, which sits outside the nation’s top 100.
The Cardinals lean heavily on frontline stuff, particularly when Patrick Forbes takes the mound. His performance will likely dictate the weekend, as Louisville is 7-1 when he goes five-plus innings and just 2-3 when he doesn’t.
A potential first-round draft pick, Forbes runs his fastball up to triple digits (sitting 95.5 mph) and pairs it with a low-80s slider that plays against both righties and lefties. The slider has been his most consistent weapon, while righthanded hitters have found more success against his heater, hitting .281.
The wild card for Forbes is command. He has scattered strikes at times, posting multiple three-walk games and often running up early pitch counts.
Peter Michael figures to serve as Louisville’s likely Game 2 starter. His fastball-slider mix isn’t quite as explosive as Forbes’, but his slider (45% whiff, 31% chase) is a true bat-misser. Control remains his biggest challenge (16.2% walk rate), but hitters struggle to square him up consistently.
If the series goes to a Game 3, the Cardinals will have options on the mound, including an all-hands bullpen effort.
Louisville’s offense doesn’t lean on overwhelming power, but it’s deep, balanced, tough to pitch to and largely built around athleticism and pressure. Lucas Moore (.366 average, .459 on-base percentage, 48 steals) sets the tone from the leadoff spot and is among the most disruptive baserunners left in the field. His ability to reach and immediately apply pressure shapes how opponents pitch to the heart of the order.
Behind him, Zion Rose (12 HR, 61 RBI) and Eddie King Jr. (15 HR, 56 RBI) supply the thump, with Jake Munroe (.338/.457) functioning as one of the team’s more complete bats. Matt Klein, now healthy after missing a significant chunk of the season, adds sneaky production to the top of the order, giving Louisville an offense that doesn’t give many easy innings.
The Cardinals can string together innings in a hurry and aren’t reliant on the long ball to generate runs. Seven of their nine offensive regulars own on-base percentages north of .390, and six have double-digit steals—making this a lineup that thrives on movement and matchup exploitation.
Miami Preview
Miami’s turnaround this season has been one of the sport’s biggest storylines. After a rocky start and plenty of external noise around the program, the Hurricanes have surged into the super regional round behind a consistent, quality pitching staff and an offense that makes enough noise in big moments to win.
Offensively, Miami leans on a single star surrounded by a cast of solid role players. Daniel Cuvet (.379/.466, 17 HR, 81 RBI) gives the lineup true impact thump—he’s a pure power threat with gap-to-gap damage and one of the hotter bats left in the tournament entering the weekend.
Jake Ogden (.345/.412 OBP) and Max Galvin (.301/.366) are high-contact tablesetters, while Dorian Gonzalez Jr. (11 HR, 56 RBI) and Derek Williams (.331/.408) add critical length to the order. Miami doesn’t steal much, but it grinds at-bats and produces traffic.
On the mound, Miami’s staff has shown flashes but also some recent volatility. Griffin Hugus (90 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) profiles as the likely Game 1 option despite the Hurricanes pitching off last week and will need to shoulder a heavy load. He’s worked deep into starts and owns the staff’s only complete games. AJ Ciscar (3.78 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 64.1 IP) offers another highly-productive arm with good command and the ability to limit free passes. Beyond those two, the depth thins. Several arms have ERAs north of 5.00, and walks and hard contact have been an issue at times in the middle innings.
Brian Walters (10 saves, 4.96 ERA) gives Miami a proven late-game option, but the bullpen overall remains can be a bit of an adventure. Managing innings and avoiding early deficits will be critical in this matchup.
When Miami pitches to its ceiling and the offense clicks as it did in regionals, this is a team capable of beating anyone left in the field. But consistency will be the key to whether the Hurricanes can punch a ticket to Omaha for the first time since 2016.
Louisville Vs. Miami Predictions
- Jacob Rudner: Miami
- Peter Flaherty: Louisville
