Nick Mingione says Kentucky’s goal is to win national championship every year

It was a successful year for Nick Mingione at the helm of Kentucky’s baseball program. The Wildcats made the Super Regionals in the NCAA tournament, getting swept by eventual national champions LSU in Baton Rouge.

It’s a good benchmark, Mingione said, but only the start of where he wants to take the Kentucky program. In Mingione’s eyes, there’s nothing stopping Kentucky from being a team that’s going to Omaha every year with legit chances to lift a trophy.

“We’ve always said our goal is to make to Omaha and not only make it, but to win the national championship. So for us, the expectations don’t change. I do believe, though, that our players will have to work through and manage those, right? Like as a coach, that is what I strive to do. That’s what I believe the goal should be every year. But, with those expectations for some of our players, we’ll work through that,” Mingione said.

He reflected on the series with LSU to end the season. The year LSU had — starting as No. 1 and finishing with a national championship — is something he’d love to experience at Kentucky.

And he wants his players to eventually get to the point where they’re right carrying the confidence and swagger. A vibe similar to that of LSU in 2023: We know we’re not the underdog.

“And I want us to get to a spot where we’re not the underdog. That’s what you want. And I thought that’s what LSU, I give them a lot of credit, they were the preseason No. 1 and they finished No. 1. There’s something to be said for that. The way you handle and manage those. So we’ll be able to draw from that as an experience,” Mingione said.

Kentucky has already come a long way under Mingione

Shortly after Kentucky’s season ended, Mingione considered how far along the program has come.

Kentucky was one of the top 16 seeds in the country and hosted the Lexington Regional, advancing through it to a super regional for only the second time in school history.

The Wildcats ultimately had their season come to an end, going 0-2 against LSU in the super regionals, but it was still a solid year for Mingione’s club. He was asked after the season came to an end about the program and how to continue to move it forward.

“We’ve been to two [super] regionals in the last [seven] years and we’ve never been to one ever [before that]. So we’re trending in the right direction,” Mingione said. “We’ll see what happens with the draft, we’ll see what happens with guys making decisions about the transfer portal and things like that. We definitely have some holes to fill. Haven’t spent a ton of time on that, because we’ve been playing and I’ve been focusing on these guys. But we’re close. It’s not far off. We’re really close. These next two, three, four, five, six, eight weeks will help determine how the Wildcats will be next year.”