How Louisville's Skylar Meade coached Troy baseball to super regionals
Before Troy baseball’s NCAA Tournament super regional appearance, head coach Skylar Meade will give his team a message using Louisville coach Dan McDonnell’s words.
“Your story’s already written,” Meade recalled his former college coach saying nearly 20 years ago. “If you decide to write another chapter, then it’s going to be the greatest one ever written.”
The young McDonnell, who Meade described as brash and confident, yet motivational, was a first-year head coach when he led Louisville to a home super regional before earning the program’s first College World Series appearance in 2007. His words during the magical run were just as applicable then as they are now for Meade, who was a senior that season and is now leading the Trojans on their own memorable postseason run.
Troy has made the regionals four other times over the past 15 years but never made it out of the first weekend. During Meade’s second year in 2023, the Trojans had their first 40-win season and made the tournament. But they went 1-2 in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, regional before missing the postseason the next two years. This year, Troy is making the program’s first-ever super regional appearance — with the added bonus of playing at home.
“This is what we’ve been striving to do,” Meade said. “Honestly, being fortunate enough to host a super regional, it’s like a whole other level, but the game rewards you sometimes if you can handle all the ups and downs, and so we’ll embrace it this weekend and beyond. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
The Ballard High School graduate and the Trojans (36-30) will host Little Rock in the super regional series, which is set to begin at 4 p.m. Friday at Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Alabama. Game 2 will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, and a Game 3 time will be announced later, if needed. An uber-confident Little Rock team comes into the series on an eight-game winning streak after taking down regional host Southern Miss, then Jacksonville State twice.
Meade credits scheduling with helping Troy get to this point. The Trojans played seven games against ranked opponents, including a series against Sun Belt Conference foe Southern Miss, and went 4-3 in those contests. Their best win was a 12-inning, 6-5 victory over Georgia (now the top remaining national seed at No. 3), on Feb. 25. But there was still room for improvement as Troy battled with injuries while trying to get everyone in the right headspace.
That moment came on May 5 when the squad beat 17th-ranked Alabama, 6-1, then took a 2-1 series win over rival South Alabama that weekend. The Trojans won five of their last six regular-season games and made the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals. They were the last team in the NCAA Tournament field; their 32-29 record on Selection Monday was worst among at-large qualifiers.
In many ways, Troy’s journey to the supers reminds Meade of Louisville’s 2007 team. For one, both squads had to get through Miami to earn at least two more games at home. The 2007 Cardinals beat the ‘Canes twice before taking down Missouri. The 2026 Trojans lost to Miami to open the tournament, then won a rematch in the elimination bracket. Ironically, Chris Dominguez, who was also part of Louisville’s first CWS squad, was across the field from Meade as one of Miami’s assistant coaches.
Meade and his father caught up with Dominguez during the weekend. There was no doubt in Meade’s mind that he and his former teammate would end up right where they are now. It’s what they envisioned for themselves 19 years ago when making history at Louisville.
Meade hopes to help Troy’s players experience the same feelings he and Dominguez did by earning the program’s first CWS appearance. The journey to Omaha and another chapter of the Trojans’ story is continuing to be written.
“It’s a big deal if you’re part of history,” Meade said, “but the great part about being part of history (is) it’s not like there’s a ceiling as to what all becomes of it. I don’t want these guys to feel like we’re done, because we’re not.”
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville’s Skylar Meade leads Troy baseball to NCAA super regionals