Starting 5: Cole Hodge commits to ECU and Louisville WBB offers Sacred Heart Academy star

Early on in the recruiting process, East Carolina football's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Donnie Kirkpatrick, told Christian Academy of Louisville's Cole Hodge he reminded him of a young gunslinger he worked with during his brief stint as an assistant at U of L from 1995-97.

That quarterback was none other than eight-year NFL veteran Chris Redman, who unbeknown to Kirkpatrick at the time has helped Hodge become one of the best high school signal-callers in Kentucky as a coach on the Centurions' staff. After Hodge committed to ECU on Tuesday, nearly four months to the day he received an offer from the Pirates, the past and present will collide when he sets off for Greenville, North Carolina, next year to learn under Kirkpatrick's guidance.

"The coaching staff loved me," Hodge told The Courier Journal on Wednesday, noting they made a visit to Louisville this spring to watch him throw. "They've had me No. 1 on their board since they offered me. They have a great vision for the program, and their fanbase is awesome."

Leading CAL to a 15-0 record and its first state championship as a member of Class 3A, Hodge completed 169 of his 232 pass attempts in the fall for 2,949 yards (fifth in KHSAA) and 48 touchdowns (first) while carrying the ball 76 times for 711 yards and nine scores. He threw just four interceptions.

Relive the moment: CAL football wins KHSAA Class 3A championship

ECU went 8-5 (4-4 AAC) in Mike Houston's fifth season as head coach and defeated Coastal Carolina 53-29 in the Birmingham Bowl. The Pirates' offense ranked 16th in Division I with 290.5 passing yards per game and tied for 35th in scoring with 32.5 points per contest. Hoge said he plans to travel to Greenville for a game this season and doesn't see himself making visits to other schools, saying he's "pretty locked in" to Kirkpatrick's "quarterback-friendly" offense.

Around the city: U of L names Joe Franklin new director of track and field, cross-country

Louisville on Friday finalized a deal to make Joe Franklin the next leader of its track and field and cross country teams after announcing in April it would be parting ways with coach Dale Cowper at the end of the outdoor season.

A native of Greencastle, Indiana, Franklin is joining the Cardinals after a 16-year stint at New Mexico. He has earned national coach of the year honors three times — twice with the Lobos and once at Butler during the early 2000s.

"I'm excited and looking forward to joining the Louisville family and an athletic department with a very rich tradition and history of success at the highest level," Franklin said in a statement from U of L Athletics. "Our goals will be simple from the day that we start this process: give our student-athletes incredible opportunities in the classroom, on the track and on the global stage."

Under Franklin's guidance, New Mexico's women's cross country team won national championships in 2015 and 2017 and finished second in 2018 and 2022. His tenure saw 10 Lobos athletes win individual national titles, with two coming in cross country and eight in track and field.

"He said, 'You know, at the end of the day, I just want our student-athletes to get to the start line happy and healthy. 'When they're happy and healthy, that's when they perform at their best,'" Louisville athletic director Josh Heird said Friday. "That's an oversimplification of things, but that's the culture we're trying to build."

Getting an upgrade: Louisville baseball stadium and basketball practice facility renovations approved by ULAA

What to know: See USA TODAY report on Louisville athletics' revenue and expenses in 2022

High school recruiting: Sacred Heart's Reagan Bender lands Louisville women's basketball offer

• Sacred Heart's Reagan Bender, a member of the girls basketball All-State first team as a junior, received a scholarship offer to play for Louisville on June 12 — her fifth at the Division I level.

• Marlon Harbin, a rising sophomore who led St. Xavier's football team in receiving yards last fall, earned scholarship offers from U of L on June 12 and Kentucky on June 13 after participating in camps at both schools in the past few weeks.

• Three days before Cole Hodge committed to ECU, the Pirates extended a scholarship offer to his younger brother, Connor, who played primarily wide receiver and defensive back for CAL last fall and now has offers to play at seven Division I schools.

• Southeast Missouri State and Central Michigan are the two latest Division I schools to offer Maurice Stephens, who in his sophomore season at Ballard caught seven passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns while also working in the defensive secondary.

Louisville WBB recruiting: Center Eseosa Imafidon 1st commit to Cardinals in 2023

Mark your calendars

• Louisville City FC kicks off a two-match homestand at 8 p.m. Wednesday with an international friendly against FC Kaiserslautern, which competes in Germany's second division, 2. Bundesliga. The boys in purple will resume USL play at 8 p.m. Saturday against Las Vegas Lights FC.

• Racing Louisville FC visits the NC Courage for a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday looking for payback after losing 2-1 when the clubs met last month at Lynn Family Stadium.

• The Louisville Bats are also headed to North Carolina for a series running Tuesday night through Sunday evening against the Charlotte Knights.

• Twelve of Louisville's top boys basketball teams will take the court Tuesday at Male High School (4409 Preston Hwy.) for the Derek Smith Shootout. Holy Cross and Moore get things started at 2 p.m., followed by Male vs. Butler at 3 p.m., CAL vs. Central at 4 p.m., Ballard vs. Western at 5 p.m., Trinity vs. Evangel Christian at 6 p.m. and Manual vs. DeSales at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10.

Play of the week: Racing Louisville FC strikes twice in a minute, leading to another Challenge Cup win

It appeared as if Racing Louisville FC was headed into halftime Wednesday night tied 0-0 with the Houston Dash. Then, Kayla Fischer and Savannah DeMelo busted the door down with back-to-back goals in less than a minute during stoppage time.

Fischer's goal was the first of her professional career after being selected out of Ohio State in the second round of this year's NWSL draft. With smoke from supporters' celebratory pyrotechnics still lingering in the air at Lynn Family Stadium, the ball quickly found its way back down the field to DeMelo, who netted her third goal in as many Challenge Cup matches.

DeMelo will be added to the U.S. World Cup roster, according to a report from The Athletic.

Racing beat the Dash 3-0 to remain undefeated in Challenge Cup play. With a record of 2-3-6 (12 points), the club is in ninth place on the NWSL table.

Each week we'll highlight what's going on in and around Louisville, from high school to pro sports, in our "Starting 5." Got a story to tell or a play of the week? Tweet at us @CJ_Sports. You can reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Racing Louisville FC star Savannah DeMelo & Louisville WBB recruiting