Louisville star Eddie King Jr. reflects on season: 'We always fought back'

Louisville‘s 2025 season came to an end Wednesday afternoon following a 10-3 loss to Men’s College World Series Final bound Coastal Carolina. The Cardinals won two games in Omaha, as they knocked off Arizona 8-3 and walked-off Oregon State 7-6 Tuesday night.

Louisville star outfielder Eddie King Jr., who went 6-14 at the plate with a double and three RBIs in four College World Series games, reflected on their season postgame.

“It’s been a long journey, ups and downs,” King Jr. said. “We started off pretty good. We went through bumps in the road. But I think we just did well as a team. We always fought back. I know we surprised a lot of people, but we always knew we had it in us. We just brought it out at the right time. I think this team is just so resilient, just the things that we did all year, even guys fighting injuries, like Alex [Alicea], [Garret] Pike, it just goes to show this group is really special. And we just have a lot of talent, and we proved it this year.”

The Cardinals made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022 and their first Men’s College World Series appearance since 2019 this season. It had been a rough few years for Dan McDonnell‘s program, but it righted the ship and finished in the MCWS Final Four.

“I’m just grateful to be along for this journey and just be one of the people or one of the teams that can go down in the history books for Louisville,” King Jr. said. “This is a special team and I’m just sad that it came to an end today. But I’m just grateful.”

Things went south quick for Louisville on Wednesday, as Coastal Carolina plated six runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to a 6-0 advantage. The ‘Cards however never quit fighting and fell just one hit shy of matching Coastal’s total on the day (10).

“I’m honestly just really glad it worked out this way,” King Jr. said in his closing remarks. “Like I always say, everything happens for a reason. You’ve just got to trust God’s plan. I was just meant to be here for another year. And I’m so glad I took that because I got to be with this special group of brothers and got one more year with Coach [Dan McDonnell], got to learn from him another year.”

“Just the whole year, I can’t ask for much more. I loved the whole ride.”