Dogpile At CWS Is Dream For Louisville-Bound Kievman

COPLEY - The top-rated sophomore outfielder in Ohio has found a college home at Louisville.

“They made me an extremely good offer,” Jordan Kievman reasoned as to why he made a commitment early in his 10th-grade year of high school. “It’s a great school and I like the academics there, I saw no point in waiting. My family agreed and I took it.”

A camp invite helped close out a recruiting process that included talks with Ohio State, Indiana and West Virginia along with interest from Florida State and Virginia Tech.

“They checked me out on social media and invited me on a visit, that’s when it all unfolded,” the Akron Hoban sophomore said about Louisville. “Doing all those showcases really helped me out. They were looking on twitter after I did a showcase with PBR and they liked what they saw. They like my frame and projectability and they like my swing. They also saw that I have good pitch movement and said I just need to keep working on it.”

The 327th-ranked 2025 in the nation is thrilled to have an opportunity as a two-way player with the Atlantic Coast Conference program.

“It’s not been my primary position, but I’ve been pitching my whole life,” related the southpaw, who also hits left-handed. “I’ve just dialed in recently and realize I can do it.”

There was more that Louisville found impressive about the 16-year-old.

“They like my character and that I keep a good attitude,” Kievman said. “They think I can be a great asset for them in the outfield and as a pitcher.”

Interest in baseball began at a young age for Kievman.

“My dad played college baseball and my mom was athletic, she ran track and cross country at a private college,” Kievman noted. “I’ve had talent since I was little and grew up loving the sport. I knew I had skill assets, I just had to keep working at it.”

While his father has been his hitting coach along his baseball journey, Kievman pointed to pitching coach Lou Kolasky with providing additional help.

“He’s been with me the last seven years helping me thrive at everything,” related the sixth-rated sophomore in the state. “My uncle, Mike Bricker, who played at UCLA and was drafted by the Cubs, has been another big influence baseball wise in my life.”

Kievman also pointed to the Future Games with benefitting his quest to play at the next level.

“When I went there I had a lot of talks,” Kievman explained about the PBR event that took place a little more than three months ago in Georgia. “That’s when I had more in-depth looks from colleges. My recruitment was a little more stressful than I thought it would be, I just knew I had to do whatever I could to make it happen. When Louisville showed interest, I wanted to make sure it was right for me.”

Once a decision was made, the 56th-ranked 2025 outfielder in the country felt blessed.

“What a great feeling,” Kievman reflected. “It was very relieving not having the weight on my shoulders and knowing where I’m going for college.”

The 6-2 165-pounder is confident he can be a key part of a Louisville program that has made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances in the past 15 seasons with 10 regular-season conference titles in 13 seasons, the last five in the ACC.

“Hopefully I’ll bring a great bat which is my biggest skill asset,” Kievman said. “I’m working on my pitching and hopefully I can also help with that. I’ll also keep up with academics and make sure my grades stay good.”

A 3.8 student at Hoban the last quarter, Kievman plans on majoring in business at the university in Kentucky five hours from home.

“My dream is playing in the College World Series,” Kievman concluded. “Getting in a dogpile would be a dream come true.”