Malvern Prep’s Tague Davis set a Louisville record and fueled its College World Series run

Before the decisive Game 3 of the Louisville Super Regional, Tague Davis broke down in tears as the national anthem began playing. Not because of the pressure of the moment. He was in awe of the scene at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

Six thousand fans packed the stadium to see Louisville clinch a spot in the Men’s College World Series for the first time since 2019, and Davis has had his fingerprints all over the team’s success this season.

Against Miami last weekend, Davis ran under a deep fly ball to center and caught the final out to punch the Cardinals’ ticket to Omaha, Neb., a moment he calls “pure bliss.”

“Coach [Dan] McDonnell said this to us: ‘We can be a part of something really special.’ And I believe we’re doing that as we speak,” Davis said. “Coming out of Malvern, you want to go to a place that you’ll learn to love the game even more. And Louisville is definitely the spot for me. I’m very fortunate for this opportunity, to be here and to play for these fans, play for the city, and it’s just a lot of fun.”

Davis was in the outfield to finish the game, but he’s been the team’s primary first baseman this season. Three innings earlier in that clincher, Davis starred in a moment that is etched in assistant coach Adam Vrable’s mind. Vrable, the Cardinals’ hitting and outfield coach, in his 11th season with Louisville, has been as impressed with Davis’ fielding as his success at the plate.

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With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning of a 2-2 game, Miami’s Renzo Gonzalez hit a dribbler back to the pitcher, who threw the ball home. Louisville catcher Matt Klein threw it to first, slightly off line, but Davis stretched to snag it and complete a double play, which opened the door for Louisville to take the lead for good in the seventh.

Davis has “pushed his ceiling and pushed his bar another level,” Vrable said.

“I don’t take first base for granted. That is a pivotal spot in the infield because, man, you can help out so many infielders that are trying to make plays, and he’s done that,” Vrable said. “I don’t take for granted what he’s done around the bag. I’m talking digs. I’m talking those extension plays. Those are huge. … What’s been very good for me to see is that defensive skill set that he’s bringing, because it’s almost like I’m expecting that guy to make every play.”

Davis, the former Malvern Prep star and the son of Ben Davis, the Phillies’ NBC Sports Philadelphia color analyst, has made his mark this season. He’s the team’s leader in home runs with 18, setting the freshman record in the process, and is hitting .286.

Although he pitched more in high school, Davis still is considered a two-way player. He has just three innings pitched over five games this season, as his coaches have found more value in having him in the lineup and at first base or in the outfield.

His rapid development, his mother, Megan, said, can be attributed to the confidence the staff instilled in him, led by McDonnell.

» READ MORE: Malvern Prep’s Tague Davis follows a similar path to his dad, a former big-league catcher

“During the beginning of the fall season, I think the coaches really gave him a lot of confidence, gave [Tague] a lot of stuff to work on,” she said. “That helped him develop a little bit better and get to where he is now. It took a lot of time and practice, and he had a mentality to do it.”

Added Vrable: “What I firmly believe helps him is he’s got the willingness to learn. He’s got coaches that are coming up to him in all areas of the game, and he’s got that willingness to want to learn and to want to be coached and want to get better. I think that’s where it all starts. … Being able to go through those little bit of ups and some downs, that’s how you learn, and that’s how you develop, and that’s how you progress as a hitter.”

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Davis earned freshman All-American honors (first team by Perfect Game, second team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers). He says he’s focused on “trying to be as consistent as I can be each day” and credits the coaching staff for instilling in him that “when you do the little things right, it’ll reward you in the end, big time.”

He also has leaned on advice from his father, who played professionally for 15 years after getting drafted in the first round in 1995, and his uncle, Glenn Davis, a first-round pick in 1997. But more than anything, Tague said, the off-field lessons have been just as valuable.

“Outside of the game, it’s been a bunch of life lessons that I can use when I’m on field. A lot of patience they’ve had with me over the years, for sure,” he said. “I’m a younger guy, 19, but I feel like I’m already a seasoned player because the stuff that coach [McDonnell], but also my dad, [uncle] Glenn, have bestowed on me.”

While Davis has been away from home, Vrable has been “as much of a father figure as he is a coach” to him and his teammates. After dropping off their son at Louisville, Megan Davis said she and her husband could feel the comfort he had with the coaching staff that was built throughout the recruiting process.

Tague recently showed up to watch Vrable’s son play in a Little League game along with two other teammates and says his coach “is like family.”

“They showed up, and I just told him, ‘Man, you have no idea what that means, obviously, to my son and my family, what it means to me,’” Vrable said. “He’s a great young man, he’s a great kid, and he’s just a really good person from a very good family, very good background. … He’s always a joy to be around. He’s always smiling."

It’s a 10-hour drive from Malvern to Louisville, so Davis’ family has not been able to see him play much this season. But the stars aligned for the family last weekend, when they made the trip to watch him play. His parents, three siblings, and a cousin were in attendance to watch the three-game super regional.

And that made Louisville’s Men’s College World Series berth even sweeter.

“It was pretty cool to have everybody there and celebrate,” Megan said. “We’re a pretty close family in general, so it’s been hard not being there sometimes.”

Tague added: “It was so cool to be out there and look up in the stands to your folks there, and just know that they’re supporting you each and every step of the way. They just keep harping [on] that they made the right choice of sending me here.”

Louisville’s quest for a national championship will begin Friday against Oregon State (7 p.m., ESPN), and Ben Davis will be in attendance through the weekend.