Kentucky Baseball buy-in is at an all-time high

With the season Kentucky Baseball has had so far, it seems like buy-in to the program is at an all-time high.

However, this is just the start.

“I think it feels good to be the ground floor of what we’re trying to produce for this program,” Ryan Nicholson said after Saturday’s win. “This game is a really good starting point and a big confidence builder going forward. We didn’t just come here just to be happy that we were here. We came here to win games. And that’s what we were trying to do today.”

I never write in first person, but I’d love to share a personal story about this team and what its meant to Kentucky fans.

My parents are huge Kentucky basketball and football fans, but Kentucky baseball had never been a staple in my life growing up. The coverage of college baseball wasn’t great (written and televised), so it was truly hard to get invested. Combine that with a lackluster product for many years, the fanbase just wasn’t there.

During Kentucky’s 5-4 walk-off win over NC State however, my parents were dialed in along with many other Wildcat fans. I was told my father was jumping off the couch with joy for the Ryan Nicholson and Mitch Daly home runs, and my mother was as locked in as she would be for NCAA Basketball Tournament games.

My parents are just a reflection of the Big Blue Nation as a whole. Social media after managerial decisions and in-game decisions suddenly look like basketball/football discourse. Instead of Kentucky Baseball being used as background noise, it suddenly means a lot to the Big Blue Nation.

“Obviously with our fans, they traveled all the way here,” Trey Pooser said Saturday. “It was awesome. They helped calm my nerves, made it feel like it was a home game. It was awesome.”

After opening the 2023 season with mostly empty crowds at Kentucky Proud Park, fans have set many attendance records over the past two seasons due to the play of the team. The top 10 crowds in stadium history were set in the past two seasons.

1. Oregon State (7,558) 6/9/24
2. Oregon State (7,441) 6/8/24
3. Tennessee (7,304) 4/20/24
4. Tennessee (6,922) 4/19/24
5. Indiana (6,796) 6/5/23
6. Indiana (6,094) 6/3/23
7. Illinois (6,066) 6/1/24
8. Indiana State (5,877) 6/2/24
9. Western Michigan (5,861) 5/31/24
10. Louisville (5,292) 4/25/23

Along with becoming extremely important to fans, Kentucky’s run this season has cemented the program as a transfer portal paradise. Transfers RHP Trey Pooser, RHP Robert Hogan, RHP Cameron O’Brien, RHP Johnny Hummel, 1B Ryan Nicholson, and 3B Mitch Daly were all instrumental parts in Kentucky’s College World Series opening win over Kentucky.

The Cats will face Texas A&M in their second game of the College World Series Monday night at 6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET.

Follow KSR at the College World Series

KSR the show may not be headed to Omaha this weekend, but the website will be well-represented. KSR baseball beat writer Daniel Hager and videographer Steven Peake hit the road on Friday to capture all the action and excitement for Kentucky’s first College World Series appearance. They’ll be sharing all of their adventures on the site, social media, and special editions of “Bat Cat Beat” and Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube Channel, so make sure you’re following and subscribed to keep up with the Cats.

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KSR’s trip to Omaha for the College World Series is presented by Summit Insurance Group, a veteran owned, family operated business. We want to introduce you to Steve Terrell, who is here to help and give you a tip.
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