Nick Mingione considers how to utilize momentum, take next steps at Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats baseball program had a breakthrough season during their 2023 campaign, cracking the Top 25 polls for the first time since 2018. Kentucky made it all the way to the Super Regionals in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament, before losing to the eventual national champions, the LSU Tigers. The Wildcats finished with an impressive 40-21 overall record, including winning four of their five games in the Lexington Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Recently, Kentucky head baseball coach Nick Mingione discussed how to capitalize on their momentum from this year and take the next step.

Nick Mingione discusses his team taking the next step

“You know, that’s a really good question,” Mingione began. “You know, now that we’ve been there twice. We’re in the spot where we do, we want to get there. The experience that we had here was phenomenal in the Regional. And you just think about hey, the next stop will hopefully be for us to host a Super Regional.”

The Wildcats’ head man recognized how big of an advantage home field is in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

“We were this close to a national seed, you know. And so, playing at home is definitely an advantage. But you know, for our program to take that next step, we have to do that. And that’s why our summers are so important. Everyday counts. You guys know this but, this is when our team is built. And not only built, but they get better,” said Mingione.

The Kentucky head coach noted that while it might be the summertime, all of his players are working on a variety of things in the offseason.

“So, we’ve got guys off right now in summer baseball that are out trying to get better themselves. We’ve got guys that maybe threw a ton that are in the weight room already, working on their diet. They’re getting bigger, faster, stronger. So, yeah, it is the summertime but it is a time for us to close the gap. For our players to get better and our program to move forward,” Mingione said.

The Wildcats had one of their most impressive wins of the 2023 campaign, when they defeated the top-ranked LSU Tigers on Friday, April 14th, by a score of 13-10. Senior Chase Stanke drove in four runs in the win over the top-ranked Tigers. He also belted a two-run home run. LSU would go on to win the 2023 national crown after their magical run in this year’s NCAA Tournament.