LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At long last, the 2026 MLB Draft is finally here. Mock draft and big board season is now behind us, and soon we will find out where the top talents in college and high school baseball will have the opportunity to start their professional careers.Despite the draft now in its sixth year of only being 20 rounds long, the Louisville baseball program is still expected to have a notable presence in this year's draft. Just how notable? Well, for starters, it's very likely that the Cardinals will once again produce a first round pick.Among scouts, league executives and the baseball media, outfielder Zion Rose is Louisville's consensus top draft prospect. Ranked as high as the No. 22 overall prospect in the draft (The Athletic), he has a chance to be UofL's first first-round draft pick since Patrick Forbes was picked at No. 29 overall in last year's draft - and their highest since Henry Davis went No. 1 overall in 2021.While Rose had to miss the first month of the season because of an ankle injury, when he returned to action, he made his at-bats count. He slashed .417/.491/.646 and collected six homers, 47 RBIs, 13 doubles, a triple, 19 walks and 24 stolen bases in just 36 games, earning First-Team All-ACC and Second-Team All-American honors in the process.After Rose, the next Cardinal that's expected to come off the board is fellow outfielder Lucas Moore. He ranks as high as the No. 171 prospect in the draft (Baseball America), and is expected to be picked very early in the second and final of the draft. There's no doubt that Moore is one of the fastest players in all of college baseball - if not the fastest. That being said, some regression experienced during his junior year is why he likely will not be a day one pick. He went from hitting .341 with 49 RBI and 53 stolen bases in 2025, to hitting .286 with 35 RBI and 37 stolen bases this past season. Despite this, his base stealing prowess and defense will ensure he will be drafted.Behind these two, not only is there no consensus on who will be the next Louisville player drafted, there's no guarantee anyone else will be drafted at all. If anyone else does hear their name called, it would likely be either shortstop Alex Alicea, third baseman Bayram Hot or catcher Jimmy Nugent.Alicea also dealt with some injuries in 2026, which limited his effectiveness in the box and in the field, but he still hit .300 with two homers and 25 RBI in 44 games. Hot ended his collegiate career on a high note, hitting .330 with nine homers and 41 RBI. Nugent's defense was hit-or-miss at times, but he was an asset at the plate, hitting .315 with 11 homers and 39 RBI. in 48 games.Of course, there's also the chance that a high school commit could end up choosing the professional route if he's drafted high enough. However, that likely won't happen for Louisville this year - simply because of the fact that their 2026 recruiting class only ranks 49th in the nation. The only UofL commit ranked in Baseball America's Top 500 Draft Prospects is right-handed pitcher Parker Van Engelenhoven, and even he is just ranked as the No. 483 prospect in the draft.The 2026 MLB Draft will begin with rounds one through four on Saturday, July. 11 at 1:00 p.m. EST. The remainder of the draft will start on Sunday, July 12 at 11:30 a.m. EST. Day one will be televised on NBC and MLB Network, while day two will be streaming on MLB.com.Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for the latest news.More Cardinals Stories(Photo of Zion Rose: Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow