Kentucky Baseball Enters Top 25 Rankings at No. 24

DanielHagerKSR

Kentucky-Baseball-Enters-Top25-Rankings — Photo via UK Athletics

For the first time this season, Kentucky Baseball has found its way into D1Baseball’s Top 25 Rankings at No. 24.

Kentucky, No. 1 Arkansas and No. 6 Florida are the only SEC teams to win a series on the road through the first two weeks of league play after the Cats took 2 of 3 at Missouri for the first time since 2017. pic.twitter.com/aUP2ekXVYq
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 24, 2024

The Bat Cats have jumped out to a 20-4 (5-1) start, and are one of two SEC teams with just one conference loss (Arkansas). They currently sit atop at the SEC East.

Kentucky opened SEC play with a dominant sweep of Georgia, outscoring the Bulldogs 37-15 over the three-game span. They then took care of business in Columbia, taking its first road series of the season against Missouri.

Their sweep of Georgia earned them some major brownie points, as the Bulldogs swept then No. 11 ranked Alabama over the weekend.

This season marks the third of the Nick Mingione era at Kentucky where the Cats have won their first two SEC series. In the prior two seasons (2017 & 2023), they ended up making the NCAA Tournament and hosting a Regional in Lexington.

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Kentucky has never made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in program history.

The Wildcat offense currently boasts four players who are batting over .300. Transfer Nick Lopez leads the team with a .402 batting average. Nolan McCarthy, who is batting .262, is currently in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak. Ryan Nicholson, who is batting .277, hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season in Sunday’s victory over Missouri.

Kentucky’s pitching staff has been lockdown as well, as they boast the nation’s 13th lowest ERA (3.66). It is the fifth lowest in the SEC.

Looking ahead, the Cats host Miami (OH) in midweek action on Tuesday. They then travel to Oxford for their third SEC series of the season against Ole Miss. Ole Miss (17-8, 3-3) has opened conference play with a series victory over No. 18 South Carolina and a series loss to No. 5 Tennessee.