Pink hats, Spiderman memes, mustaches: Kentucky is the weirdest (and most fun) team in College Baseball

This weekend, Kentucky will host the first-ever Super Regional at Kentucky Proud Park, bringing a new set of eyes to what’s happening in Lexington. Sure, the nation will get to see the No. 2 Bat Cats’ thrilling offense in action vs. No. 15 Oregon State, but they’ll also get to see the antics in the dugout, which have become a story all their own.

From pink fuzzy hats to Spiderman memes, sideways caps, and bubblegum-blowing competitions, no team in college baseball is having more fun than Kentucky. And it’s contagious. Roughly six thousand fans packed Kentucky Proud Park each day for the Lexington regional, sitting through rain delays of up to 90 minutes to cheer on the Cats, many wearing the aforementioned pink hats and tape-on mustaches in honor of Nick Lopez’s legendary ‘stache, which was dyed to match the team’s uniforms each day. Watching the dugout lead the crowd in cheers, it’s pretty remarkable to realize that all this fun was born from a loss.

In early March, Kentucky was ranked 12-1 and ranked No. 25 in the country. With SEC play just around the corner, the Cats were rolling…until Kennesaw State came to town. The Owls shocked the Cats by winning the weekend series, the first of the season. Mingione held a team meeting after and demanded more energy from his players. In fact, he told them to “get weird.”

“We kind of came out a little flat,” Evan Byers said of the Kennesaw State series. “Coach Minge talked about how … some of the most successful teams he had, they were all a little bit weird. They had some weird things.”

Mingione also promised to stay out of the dugout and let his team do their thing. The players brainstormed ways to get weird, appointing Ryan Hagenow as dugout captain. They started celebrating plays loudly and donning rally caps. Star pitcher Mason Moore started wearing a pink fuzzy hat. When a Wildcat crossed home plate, teammates met him to reenact the Spiderman meme.

CUE THE SPIDERMAN CELLY 👈👨👉

💻https://t.co/F4IuB9z9wF (ACCN)#WeAreUK | @ryanwaldy21 pic.twitter.com/xtiIAJa2Jf

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 17, 2024

That fun instantly translated onto the field. Five days after the series loss to Kennesaw State, Kentucky swept Georgia, the first of eight series victories in SEC play. Already an aggressive squad, the Cats doubled down on their efforts to steal bases and bunt. This season, they led the SEC in stolen bases (113), attempting 26 more than the next team on the list, Vanderbilt, and sac bunts (38).

Not everyone is a fan of the fun. After the Cats went to Gainesville and won two of three vs. Florida in May, Gators star Jac Caglianone, a projected top-ten MLB Draft pick, complained about Kentucky’s “nonsense.”

“Just all their nonsense that they do, I mean it’s all what they’re known for … they’re going to try and get in your head, they’re going to try chanting, doing all that nonsense. The fact that it’s allowed blows my mind.”

Caglianone’s comments just egged the Cats on. Kentucky closed out the regular season with a series win vs. Vanderbilt to finish with 22 SEC victories, a program record, and a share of the SEC regular-season title. Despite a disappointing SEC Tournament, the Cats earned a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they’re two wins away from the program’s first-ever trip to the College World Series. Judging by the crowd at Kentucky Proud Park this past weekend for the Lexington Regional, the atmosphere for the Super Regional will be epic.

If you’re going to the ballpark, here’s a quick primer on what you need to “get weird.”

Pink Fuzzy Hat

Available for $15 on Amazon.

Also useful atop a stack of rally caps:

Cowboy hats work too:

Tape-on (or real) Mustache

In honor of Nick Lopez:

Shark Costume

Just when you got “Baby Shark” out of your head, it became a Kentucky Baseball tradition. The “Jaws” theme is played when the count is 3-0 with a Kentucky batter at the plate in hopes of a walk. The Cats take it one step further by playing “Baby Shark” at 2-0. It’s become such a thing that people in shark costumes run around the park and fans even wear them to games.

Bubble Gum

Kentucky right-handed pitcher Colby Freida got some screen time for his massive bubbles this weekend.

I don't know if this Kentucky player can field or hit but he is a champion bubble blower …. @victoriagraff photo pic.twitter.com/T3BN1WJwk4

— Vaughts' Views (@vaughtsviews) June 3, 2024

Kentucky dugout is back at it again pic.twitter.com/wumx5MAs8a

— Cutter Boley Truther (@BoleyTruther) June 3, 2024

(Some) Rhythm

When James McCoy comes to the plate, wave your arms above your head to the beat of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” When Ryan Waldschmidt walks up, move your arms up and down to “Vampire” by Tribal Seeds.

@iamjamescroom

iykyk 🤣 #fyp #myfyp #kentucky #kentuckytok #kentuckybaseball #walkupsong

♬ original sound – JC 🫡

Pointer fingers, friends

For the Spiderman meme. If you’re solo at the game, find some new friends in the crowd and see if they catch on.

Gatorade

First, to stay hydrated. Second, to celebrate Kentucky’s first trip to Omaha when the moment comes.