John Morrissey
Where we left off last year
2024 season: 76 points, 1st in the Eastern Conference
Few USL teams have ever been as dominant as LouCity was during the 2024 regular season. The club signed all-league stars Arturo Ordonez and Taylor Davila in the offseason, yes, but their success was equally driven by academy products like Elijah Wynder, veteran stalwarts like Sean Totsch, and diamonds in the rough like rookie Jansen Wilson. Midseason additions of Phillip Goodrum (signed for an intra-league record fee) and Manny Perez only helped the cause.
Under Danny Cruz's watch, Louisville championed a hugely pressureful and physical style that allowed them to tilt the pitch for huge swathes of time. The club posted a dominant record on paper, and you felt that control every time LouCity hit the pitch. Still, that wasn't enough to do the job in the playoffs. Though Louisville coasted to a Players' Shield title, they fell to Rhode Island in the postseason and lost a nearly decade-long streak of conference final appearances.
Given the impossibly lofty standard in Kentucky, that finish wasn't nearly good enough.
