Kentucky Baseball Adds Talented Former Texas Commit

It wasn’t just all bad news for Kentucky baseball on Tuesday. On the same day we learned the hero of the Lexington Super Regional, Nolan McCarthy, is expected to enter the transfer portal, the Bat Cats added an instant impact freshman to the roster.

Ryan Schwartz announced his commitment to Kentucky late Tuesday night. The Cats were in the mix during his initial recruitment before he ultimately pledged his allegiance to Texas. He decommitted from the Longhorns following their offseason coaching change.

A 6-foot-3, 205-pound catcher from Indian Trail, North Carolina, he also pitched and played in the infield in high school. He’s got a solid arm, clocked at 83 mph, according to Perfect Game, who also had this to say about Schwartz.

“Taller and long limbed body with a look that has a shot to be very strong down the road… A right-handed hitter, huge power potential with strong hands and the ability to get the head out and lift balls to the pull side. Huge juice in the bat moving forward.”

Big Blue Nation let’s ride!!
1000% Committed @UKBaseball @str8ched @Coach_Mingione pic.twitter.com/DrwNiCvazy

— Ryan Schwartz (@RyanSchwartz25) July 3, 2024

Fresh off the program’s first College World Series berth, Nick Mingione is in roster-building mode throughout the month of July. Kentucky needs to find a pair of assistant coaches and discern who will be returning for the 2025 season. The MLB Draft is July 14-16 and many players will have to make stay-or-go decisions before the calendar turns to August.

KSR’s resident Diamond Dan is keeping track of all of the roster moves over the next month on the Kentucky Baseball Roster Tracker. Follow along for all of the latest developments.

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