Nick Mingione expresses gratitude for Kentucky's season ending in Omaha

Florida defeated Kentucky 15-4 to advance through to Wednesday’s nightcap against Texas A&M, ending the Wildcats’ historic season in Omaha at the 2024 Men’s College World Series.

Despite falling short of winning their first-ever national championship, UK head coach Nick Mingione acknowledged the effort this Kentucky team gave him throughout the season, praising their achievements as the first team in program history to end its season in Omaha.

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“This is not how you want to end your season but this is where you want to end your season,” Mingione said after the loss. “So congrats to Florida. They played a great game. Just so proud of our group of men. I mean, our team really is a group of men. That’s what they are. They’re unbelievable in every sense of the word. And they made history. So this hurts. It hurts a lot because this team is fully capable of accomplishing our goal of national champions, but that wasn’t the case this year. That’s not what the Lord had planned.

“But so proud of these guys for the way they represented themselves, our baseball program and our institution. Just amazing, amazing group of men. And they are winners in every sense of the word, every sense of the word. I like to call them dogs. That’s what they are, a bunch of dogs. Proud of them.”

Before losing its last two games in Omaha, the Wildcats were 6-0 to begin the NCAA Tournament this season. That included a walk-off 5-4 win over NC State in Kentucky’s opening College World Series matchup.

However, a 5-1 loss to Texas A&M on Monday led way for the lopsided finish to Wednesday’s elimination game against the Gators. Kentucky struck first during Wednesday’s matchup, but Florida bounced back quick with seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. They never looked back, and will have to defeat Texas A&M twice to advance to the College World Series final against either Tennessee or Florida State.

Kentucky ultimately finishes 46-16 this season, logging the most wins in UK baseball program history and included a 22-8 conference record and the first-ever SEC regular season championship in program history. Now, Kentucky heads into the offseason with heaps of momentum. It’s up to them to keep that success riding into 2025 and beyond under head coach Nick Mingione.