CRAWFORD | Louisville infielder's double play: Wedding one day, CWS the next | Sports

Tanner Shiver plans to fly home to marry his fiancée on June 20 — then return to Omaha for a national title shot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Life just threw Tanner Shiver a curveball — during his wedding week, no less. But at least it involves a really big diamond. A College World Series-sized diamond.

The University of Louisville infielder is scheduled to marry his fiancée, Katelyn Farmer, on June 20 at St. Michael Church in Jeffersontown — a date they picked back in December 2023, when they were students at Tennessee Tech, thinking his baseball days would be long behind him.

They were off by a year.

The transfer portal beckoned. Shiver wound up at Louisville — Katelyn’s hometown — and suited up for the 2025 season.

Now, he’s hoping to help the Cardinals win their side of the College World Series bracket, fly home to get married, attend his reception at The Olmsted in St. Matthews, then catch a red-eye flight back to Omaha in time for Game 1 of the national championship series.

“I’m going to try and get on a plane and get back to Omaha, Nebraska, before midnight,” he said. "And then wake up and play the next day.”

It can work. Electric Slide. Hook slide. How different can they be? He'll be easy to spot in Omaha. He's the one whose alternate uni is a tuxedo.

Shiver saw this coming. When the regional draw was released, he liked Louisville’s chances. When they wound up hosting Miami in the Super Regional, he liked them even more. When they won Game 1, he knew. That’s when he and his fiancée and their families started talking contingencies.

It’s a little stressful. But it’s also the kind of God-wink Shiver, and even Louisville coach Dan McDonnell, can smile at. Two life dreams coming true in the same week. How often does that happen?

There’s also the honeymoon — booked for June 21 as a surprise destination for Katelyn. That, too, is getting reworked.

“I still want to keep it a secret,” Shiver said. “But I might have to tell her early if this all works out.”

The wedding date, though? That’s not changing. And neither is Katelyn’s support.

“She’s the biggest blessing from God I could ever ask for,” Shiver said. “She’s supported me in everything I’ve ever done — athletically, not athletically. She pushes me to be a better man and to follow my faith. … She loves me more than I deserve, and she’s been there for me from the first day we met.”

The Cardinals hope to win their side of the CWS bracket by June 18 or 19, giving Shiver just enough time for a weekend he’ll never forget — no matter what happens in Omaha.

Shiver’s plan — win, fly home, get married, fly back — has the full support of Katelyn and her family, who, as McDonnell put it, are all in on the ride.

“They are — Tanner probably shared — they are die-hard Louisville fans,” McDonnell said. “This is a Louisville Cardinal family. And, I mean, what a story to tell. You know, ‘I don’t want to mess up your honeymoon. But vacations and those things, they aren’t going anywhere.’ To fly back, get married, fly back, play in a national championship — what a story you’ll have to tell for the rest of your life.”

Next stop: Omaha. Next test: Oregon State. Louisville draws a College World Series powerhouse

CRAWFORD | The streak that refocused Dan McDonnell -- and led Louisville back to Omaha

BOZICH | Louisville bound for College World Series after beating Miami, 3-2