Kentucky Baseball returns with Sunday scrimmage against Wright State

After 109 long days, Kentucky Baseball is back. Well, not “officially”, but the new-look Cats will be scrimmaging the Wright State Raiders on Sunday.

Kentucky is fresh off a run to the 2024 Men’s College World Series, the first berth in program history. The Cats finished the 2024 season with a 46-16 (22-8) record, which set the record for most wins in a season (46) in program history and the most SEC wins in a season (22) in program history. By finishing with a 22-8 conference record, Nick Mingione‘s Cats garnered their second ever regular season SEC Championship.

2024 was banner year for Mingione, as the incoming ninth-year head coach was named SEC Coach of the Year (second time), Perfect Game National Coach of the Year, NCBWA Coach of the Year, and was given the Dick Howser Award. On September 6, it was announced that Mingione had agreed to a significant contract extension with Kentucky that will keep him as head coach through the 2029 season.

Sunday will mark the first look at a new era of Kentucky Baseball, ushered in by freshman phenoms Tyler Bell and Ryan Schwartz.

Bell, a supremely talented infielder who was selected with the No. 66 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres, decided to forgo the pros in order to attend Kentucky. Schwartz, who was the No. 11 ranked catcher in the Class of 2024, flipped from Texas to Kentucky on July 2.

Bell and Schwartz are just two members of Kentucky’s loaded freshman class, consisting of 15 players.

The Cats are nearly an entirely different team than the one that made it to Omaha in 2024, as they return just 14 players that saw at least an inning of action last season. Only nine of those players saw game action in the Men’s College World Series.

Redshirt fifth year catcher Devin Burkes and redshirt junior outfielder James McCoy are the two lone offensive starters to return, while senior right-hander Robert Hogan, senior left-hander Jackson Nove, and redshirt senior left-hander Evan Byers return to anchor the Wildcat pitching staff.

To plug the holes left by graduations, draft picks, and players that hit the Transfer Portal, Mingione, Dan Roszel, Austin Cousino, and new addition Chase Slone hit the Portal themselves to bring in 15 players. Milwaukee junior outfielder Carson Hansen, Illinois State junior infielder Luke Lawrence, South Dakota State grad transfer right-handed pitcher Nic McCay, and Columbia grad transfer DH Cole Hage headline the class.

Following its away scrimmage against the Raiders, the Cats will host Morehead State in a home scrimmage at Kentucky Proud Park on October 27. Following the two scrimmages, Kentucky will open the 2025 season in mid-February. The Bat Cats’ 2025 non-conference schedule has yet to be revealed.