Humility Helps Drew Ellis Take Star Turn For Louisville

Drew Ellis has made the leap as a sophomore from key role player to middle-of-the-order presence (Photo by Mike Janes)

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Drew Ellis has already played in one World Series—many years ago.

When the Louisville third baseman was 12, Ellis and his Jeffersonville, Ind., Little League team went to the 2008 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Ellis played a starring role as a shortstop and pitcher.

Though his team didn’t win it all, Ellis looks back on that time fondly. He says he felt like a big leaguer—like an actual World Series star. Even better, that was also the time when Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell discovered him.

“I’ve known Drew since he went to the Little League World Series,” McDonnell said. “And he was coming to our camps, him and (Louisville teammate) Chandler Dale and that Jeff group, and it’s been so much fun to watch his progression.

“He committed to us early in high school. We knew we wanted him as a young high school player.”

Now Ellis, a redshirt sophomore, is taking on a starring role yet again on a Cardinals team that could very well make it to the more grown-up College World Series in Omaha.

But stardom hasn’t come as easily for Ellis in college as it did in his Little League days. When Ellis first got to campus, he found himself buried on the depth chart, behind veteran players like Sutton Whiting and Zach Lucas. The Cardinals redshirted him, and Ellis couldn’t wrap his mind around why.

“It had a big impact on me, because out of high school, you’re a stud, and you think you’re gonna come in and play right away, and it was kind of like a punch in the face,” Ellis said. “But I’m glad that it happened because to this day I think it’s the best thing that happened in my baseball career.

“Being able to watch the older guys and sit back and realize how to play the game the right way, it really helped me, and coach Mac had a lot of influence on me, as well.”

The season off the field humbled Ellis and reignited his drive to improve. The next year, Ellis started 32 games—30 in left field—and batted .309/.426/.468 in a limited 94 at-bats. Then he went off to the Northwoods League, where he ranked fifth in the league with 11 home runs. More importantly, he used last summer as a way to experiment with his batting stance. He tried various leg kicks and approaches at the plate until he found one that clicked.

The result? A monster offensive season this spring, in which Ellis was batting .387/.481/.737 with a team-leading 16 home runs in 194 at-bats heading into the ACC tournament. With the losses of bats like Corey Ray, Blake Tiberi, Will Smith and Danny Rosenbaum to the draft and graduation, Ellis has ascended into the middle of the Louisville order, playing a steady third base and protecting Brendan McKay in the lineup. In the process, Ellis has shot up draft boards and should go in the first three rounds.

“We always say, ‘Embrace the struggle,’ and Drew embraced it, and now he’s a superstar,” McDonnell said. “And I know how excited pro ball is that they’re going to get a great player who’s versatile, can play a ton of positions and a player who’s ready to grind.”

But before he moves onto professional baseball Ellis has his eyes set on World Series No. 2. Ellis has been along for the ride each of the last two years when the Cardinals lost in heartbreaking fashion at home in super regionals. In 2015, it was an extra-inning blast by Cal State Fullerton’s David Olmedo-Barrera that ended Louisville’s season. Last June, it was a shocking pinch-hit, ninth-inning grand slam by UC Santa Barbara’s Sam Cohen.

Ellis and the rest of his Cardinals teammates are determined to get back to supers, eager for the opportunity to redeem themselves and get to Omaha.

“To this day, being in the Little League World Series was the highlight of my career. It was awesome,” he said. “And I think going to Omaha this year would top that experience. Especially, we were so close last year and the year before. Two home runs beat us.

“And you’re hoping to get back to that same position, that same spot, to be in a super regional but we can only do so much and the game is the game. We’re excited for that, and I think we have a really good team.”

And they have a leader in Ellis who has been on that kind of stage before.