Kentucky baseball is good. We'll soon find out just how good
The Bat Cats are off to one of the best starts in school history. This early season dominance should pay off with a brutal upcoming schedule
We can definitively say at this point — and honestly, before now — that Kentucky coach Nick Mingione has a good baseball team in Lexington. The Wildcats just finished a sweep of Missouri to improve to 25-3 overall and 8-1 in the SEC. It’s the first time Kentucky has won its first three series in league play since 2017, and per my unofficial research, it might be the best start ever in SEC play.
Kentucky has lost one game since Feb. 25, a one-run defeat to Alabama last Sunday in a game that it didn’t trail until the bottom of the eighth inning. In that stretch, the Wildcats have won in all types of ways. Seven wins have been by double-digits, including two run-rule victories of Missouri this weekend. They have also won in close contests; Kentucky is 7-1 this season in games decided by two or fewer runs. And in between the nail-biters and the laughers, Kentucky has played good baseball and taken care of its business. Because of that, the Wildcats could wake up on Monday as a top-10 team in college baseball.
Most people, myself included, believed that reaching the NCAA Tournament was an important goal before the season. It had been four full seasons since Kentucky participated in the postseason, the longest stretch for the program since John Cohen led the 2006 team to the NCAA Tournament. No team is a lock for the postseason in early April, but the season isn’t exactly young either. The Wildcats crossed the halfway point of the season this weekend and, as of today, would no doubt be included in the field of 64. This team deserves a ton of credit for winning all seven series so far and not dropping any midweek games.
Kentucky wraps up a four-game homestand with Dayton on Tuesday night. After that, a grueling road stretch begins. The Wildcats play road series at Georgia and No. 1 LSU with a midweek game in Louisville against the Cards sandwiched between. The Bulldogs are off to a slow start, so another series win would be massive before the toughest part of the schedule hits.
After the LSU series, Kentucky’s final five series are against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. Florida (3), Vanderbilt (4), South Carolina (9) and Tennessee (10) are currently in the top 10. It’s hard to find a team with a tougher stretch down the end of the season than Kentucky.
Kentucky is certifiably good. However, the next six weeks will shape our view on whether this team is great. Will Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament resume be built in the front end, or will it extend beyond that and be viewed as a legitimate College World Series contender as the calendar turns to May? Either way, it’s exciting that these questions can be asked about the Kentucky baseball program.