Kentucky Building Buzz In College Baseball As It Rises In SEC Race

Image credit: Ryan Waldschmidt (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

Kentucky is college baseball’s buzziest team for perhaps the first time ever.

With four weeks left in the regular season, the No. 7 Wildcats are in first place in the SEC at 32-7, 15-3. They rank third in RPI and appear to be tracking toward becoming a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and can make a run at the SEC title, which would be just the second in program history and the first since 2006.

All of that alone is enough to capture the attention of the sport. But Kentucky is doing this in a season it was picked to finish fifth in the SEC East in the conference’s preseason coaches poll. And it’s doing it with flair. The Wildcats have one of the most enthusiastic dugouts in the country, creating a party atmosphere wherever they go. The wins and their enthusiasm for the game has combined to engage Big Blue Nation in a way it never has before, leading to record crowds at Kentucky Proud Park.

There’s a long way to go this season and Wildcats’ remaining schedule is tough, starting with a series this weekend at South Carolina. But Kentucky appears to be on its way to a breakthrough season, one that could reset the expectations for the program.

Coach Nick Mingione had to find the right formula for success at Kentucky. When he was hired in 2016, the Wildcats had made just six NCAA Tournament appearances ever and had never won a regional. They got over the regional hump in 2017, but consistency was still hard to come by in the rugged SEC East. They returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, when they went 40-21, hosted and won regionals before falling to LSU in super regionals.

Kentucky didn’t take a step back after that success. If anything, the Wildcats have hit the accelerator. So, what’s changed?

Kentucky is built around its pitching and defense. The Wildcats rank 18th in the nation in ERA (4.16) and 41st in fielding (.977). They’ve found a strong trio of starters in Mason Moore (7-0, 3.98), Dominic Niman (7-3, 4.08) and Trey Pooser (3-0, 4.17). Their bullpen, anchored by closer Johnny Hummel (2-0, 1.25, 5 SV) is among the best in the country. Its 3.63 ERA during weekend games ranks 12th nationally, according to FridayStarters.com.

Pitching coach Dan Roszel has built a deep staff that fills up the strike zone. With a solid defense behind it, opposing teams must beat Kentucky – not rely on free bases or mistakes to score.

Offensively, Kentucky can score runs in a variety of ways. While most teams in the SEC are based on hitting for power, the Wildcats bring the added dimension of speed and small ball. Their 81 stolen bases lead the SEC and they’re second in sacrifice bunts with 24. But they also have power. Their .516 slugging percentage is sixth in the conference and their 60 home runs rank seventh. Ryan Waldschmidt (.361/.506/.639, 8 HR) and Ryan Nicholson (.325/.441/.675, 12 HR) are dangerous hitters anchoring the lineup.

Kentucky has also built a veteran team. All nine of its regulars and its nine most used pitchers are in at least their third season of college baseball. In this era of college baseball, a lot of teams want to be old. The Wildcats figured out how to do it – both through additions in the transfer portal and retaining and developing their own high school recruits.

Kentucky has hit some home runs in the portal – Waldschmidt (Charleston Southern), Nicholson (Cincinnati), Niman (Central Connecticut State) and Hummel (Erskine) – but it would be lost without homegrown players like catcher Devin Burkes, infielder Emilein Pitre and Moore.

“We’ve done a good job evaluating and identifying not only the players but the people we think would thrive in the program,” Mingione said. “As a result, the players and the families trust us when we tell them something.

“The players have embraced the concept of growing and improving and understand that it’s a process.”

The culture at Kentucky is also a fun one. In the dugout, the players dance, there’s a fuzzy pink hat, Spiderman taped to the wall and plenty of antics to go around, including a home run celebration that mimics the meme of three Spidermen pointing at each other. It’s not new – Kentucky has been an energetic dugout for the past few years – and it’s not unique – plenty of college baseball teams go a little crazy in the dugout. But the Wildcats are probably the nation’s most enthusiastic dugout.

“We talk all the time about them being guys that love Kentucky and doing whatever it takes to help Kentucky win,” Mingione said. “What that looks like is different for every player. Some guys like to cheer louder than others. Others like to give high fives. By me stepping out of the dugout, I believe that created an environment where they can be themselves more.”

While the Wildcats may make those outside the program shake their head with their dugout party, they aren’t doing it in a way that shows up their opponents or is even directed at the other team. They’re cheering for their teammates, pumping each other up and dancing on their own.

The fans at Kentucky has responded. Last weekend against Tennessee, 21,023 fans packed into Kentucky Proud Park for the series, a program record. The Wildcats drew 7.304 fans Saturday, a program record that put them in a different echelon in college baseball attendance. Only about a dozen programs have pulled a crowd that large for an on-campus game and while there were a good number of Tennessee fans there for the border-state rivalry, to push past 7,000 fans for a single game at Kentucky is still a feat of its own.

The Wildcats are still growing, too. Mingione says he sees similarities between this year’s team and the 2013 Mississippi State team that finished as College World Series runners up, as well as the 2006 Kentucky team that won the SEC. Mingione was an assistant coach for 2006 Kentucky and 2013 Mississippi State, and he says the common through line is the competitiveness of all three teams.

Those other teams won big. Whether this year’s Wildcats can do the same remains to be seen. But they’ve got all the pieces they need to make this a special season. And so far, they’ve shown that they can overcome some adversity. They’ve had low moments – a home series loss to Kennesaw State on the eve of SEC play, for instance – but they’ve been able to bounce back.

This week represents another test of will. After a tough home series loss to Tennessee, Kentucky is looking for the right response on the road at No. 22 South Carolina.

No matter what happens this weekend, Big Blue Nation and the whole SEC will be watching Kentucky down the stretch, eager to see how far the Wildcats can push this run.