PREVIEW: Kentucky Baseball Opens Season Friday at USC-Upstate

35 weeks after their run to the Baton Rouge Super Regional last season, Kentucky Baseball is back.

The Bat Cats open the 2024 season on the road Friday afternoon for a three-game series with USC-Upstate from the Big South Conference.

For the third straight season, Kentucky will be opening their season away from home at a mid-major school (Jacksonville State in 2022, Elon in 2023).

The Cats will attempt to reverse their fate from last year’s season opener, as they were blanked 2-0 by Elon. Under Nick Mingione, Kentucky is 4-3 in season-opening games.

Following their disappointing season opening loss to Elon last season, Nick Mingione’s squad would go on to win 40 of their next 60 games en route to Kentucky’s seventh ever NCAA Tournament appearance and second ever Super Regional appearance. The Cats have never made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, so they’ll be looking to make history in 2024.

The road back to the postseason starts in Spartanburg.

USC-Upstate

USC-Upstate mightily impressed in 2023, as they fell just one game short of the NCAA Tournament after losing to Campbell in the Big South Championship Game. The Spartans finished with a 38-22 (21-6) record and are thirsty for their first ever appearance in the Big Dance this season.

The Spartans return First Team All-Big South Conference selection INF Grant Sherrod Jr. (.335 BA, 15 HR, 66 RBI) and two Second Team All-Big South Conference selections in OF Jace Rinehart (.310 BA, 8 2B, 32 RBI) and RHP Jake Cubbler (4-0, 1.51 ERA, 41.2 IP). RHP Mathieu Curtis and RHP Braden Consaul were named to the Big South All-Freshman Team in 2023.

For the first time in program history, Upstate was voted as (nearly unanimous) preseason favorites in the Big South, receiving 79 of 81 possible first-place votes.

Along with this honor, seven players were named Preseason All-Big South (Sherrod Jr., Rinehart, Cubbler, Curtis, OF Daniel Gernon, LHP Henry Proger, and UTIL Noah Sullivan).

Shutdown RHP Jake Cubbler was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List alongside Kentucky RHP Johnny Hummel. The Spartans have a lot of talent.

Head coach Mike McGuire returns for his fifth season at USC-Upstate, where the Spartans have compiled a 123-65-1 overall record. McGuire coached at Morehead State prior to his current stint in Spartansburg.

McGuire’s squad picked up some quality victories in 2023 over teams such as Northwestern, Clemson, Cincinnati, and then No. 9 ranked Campbell. A win(s) over Kentucky could be a huge launching point for Upstate to kick off their season.

Kentucky

Following the departures of beloved veterans such as Hunter Gilliam, Jackson Gray, and Darren Williams, this opening series will serve as test-run of sorts for the Cats.

Where experienced players such as Émilien Pitre (.318 BA, 16 2B, 55 RBI), Devin Burkes (.291 BA, 9 HR, 53 RBI), and Grant Smith (2023 Gold Glove Finalist) all return this season, open positions in the corner-infield and outfield will see some new faces filing in.

Nick Mingione’s Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the SEC East in the annual preseason poll, one spot ahead of where they were picked last year. They would go on to finish tied for fourth in the East with Tennessee. Redshirt junior catcher Devin Burkes was Kentucky’s lone representative on the Preseason All-SEC team.

Multiple graduate student transfers will make immediate impacts for the Cats, including 1B Ryan Nicholson (Cincinnati), LHP Dominic Niman (Central Connecticut St.), INF Nick Lopez (USC), and OF Ty Crittenberger (Western Kentucky). Nicholson is expected to get the Opening Day nod at first base, while Lopez is expected to start at third base.

The outfield gets a little tricky, as starting LF Ryan Waldschmidt (.290 BA, 14 2B, 37 RBI) is still recovering from a torn ACL and will be out of action until mid-March. Redshirt junior Nolan McCarthy (who finished 2023 on a tear) should start in left field, while redshirt sophomore James McCoy (.228 BA, 5 HR, 23 RBI) is expected to cover right field.

Center field gets real interesting, as freshman Griffin Cameron has reportedly had a stellar preseason and may have a real shot at starting the season in center over Crittenberger. We’ll find out who truly won that spot Friday afternoon.

Also making a major adjustment this season is RHP Mason Moore, who is transitioning from a reliever role to a starting role.

“I’m going to try and approach things the same,” Moore said at Media Day. “I’m not trying to think too much about it. Starting is obviously different than relieving, but last year at the end of the year I was throwing three-to-five innings at a time. I know what I have and know what I can bring to the team.”

Moore, RHP Travis Smith, LHP Dominic Niman are expected to make up the opening weekend rotation, so we’ll get an early look at the weekend starters. Moore and Niman were named Preseason All-Americans by NCBWA.

Baseball is officially back.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Kentucky leads 7-1

Game 1: Friday, Feb. 16th, 2024 (Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park – 3:00 p.m. EST) ESPN+
UK: RHP Travis Smith (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP) vs USC-Upstate: RHP Noah Sullivan (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP)
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 17th, 2024 (Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park – 2:00 p.m. EST)
UK: LHP Dominic Niman (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP) vs USC-Upstate: RHP Mathieu Curtis (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP)
Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 18th, 2024 (Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park – 1:00 p.m. EST) ESPN+
UK: RHP Mason Moore (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP) vs USC-Upstate: LHP Henry Proger (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP)