Kentucky Baseball projected to host Regional at midseason mark

Kentucky (24-4, 8-1) is projected to host a Lexington Regional for the second consecutive season in D1Baseball’s 2024 Midseason Field of 64 Projections.

Tabbed as the No. 11 national seed, the Bat Cats are paired with Indiana State, Kansas, and Northern Kentucky.

The Cats and the Jayhawks faced off earlier this season in the Karbach Round Rock Classic, with Kentucky coming out on top 8-5.

As of now, Kentucky is safely in the overall Field of 64. If the Cats can take care of business down the stretch to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, it would mark the first time in program history they made back-to-back appearances in the Big Dance.

KISS THAT BALL GOODBYE 💣💥💪

💻https://t.co/DqY9m5APOb (SECN+)#WeAreUK | #BigBlueBomb | @j_mccoy2021 pic.twitter.com/S8ca9mz6kJ

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) March 31, 2024

Kentucky hosted only its third Lexington Regional in history in 2023, taking down Indiana to clinch its second ever Super Regional berth. The Cats were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by eventual National Champion LSU.

The Cats have surpassed many expectations for the second consecutive season, as they were projected as a three seed in Duke’s region in D1’s Preseason Projected Field of 64.

The remainder of Kentucky’s schedule lends itself for the Cats to either rise or fall, as they still have remaining series against four teams also projected to host Regionals (No. 1 Arkansas, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 10 Vanderbilt, and No. 12 Florida).

The Battle of the Bluegrass between Kentucky and Louisville was postponed Wednesday night with no makeup date currently set, so the Cats will now turn all of their attention to Alabama.

The Crimson Tide, who are also in D1’s Midseason Field of 64 Projections, bring their No. 13 ranking into Kentucky Proud Park this weekend for a high-stakes SEC East series.

The three-game set will serve as a bit of a revenge series for the Cats, as Alabama knocked Kentucky out of the SEC Tournament in Hoover last season.