Notebook: Tyler Bell's preparation leading to standout freshman campaign

Putting a bow on the South Carolina series with notes on Tyler Bell, sophomore pitcher Ben Cleaver and a look at the opening at Mississippi State.

Shortstop Tyler Bell. Photo by Caleb Bowlin of UK Athletics.

Kentucky caught one of its best breaks in program history last summer when Frankfort, Illinois, shortstop Tyler Bell turned down the opportunity to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays, which had selected him with the No. 66 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He chose to bet on himself and attend school with hopes of landing a better draft spot and a bigger signing bonus down the road.

He’s lived up to the hype so far in his freshman season, and has perhaps even exceeded it in some ways when taking into account the massive jump from high school baseball to the Southeastern Conference. In SEC play only, Bell leads Kentucky in hits (31), doubles (11), batting average (.337), slugging percentage (.554) and OPS (.969). Add in his defensive value at shortstop, and there’s a good case that Bell is the Wildcats’ best player.

Bell credits his preparation to his success early in his college career.

“I feel like I haven’t been overmatched at all in any SEC game, any game this year,” Bell said. “I put a lot of that to my preparation and staying with my approach and staying calm.”

Head coach Nick Mingione called Bell a “gifted baseball player” and also praised his coaching staff for helping Bell get up to speed quickly this season.

“Amazing competitor, first off,” Mingione said. “…He has awareness and feel. I give our staff a lot of credit, Coach (Cousino), Coach Slone, those guys had our guys ready. We’ve got machines set up mimicking pitchers. We’ve got live arms down there, Ryder Giles is throwing, (Logan) Salow is throwing, they’ve put our guys in a position where you just trust your preparation. That’s where your confidence should come from. It comes from the inside out knowing you belong and that you’re prepared. Tyler Bell is an uber-confident dude. Big hit after big hit, he’s played great defensively, but he works. If you watched him pregame, just the way he approaches ground balls, the way he goes about his business, it’s of the highest level.”

Against South Carolina, Bell led off all three games and finished the weekend 4-12 with two doubles, a home run, five RBI, two walks and a HBP.

Cleaver earned a shot to work through sixth-inning trouble