Kentucky is a program on the rise, according to D1Baseball

D1Baseball.com released its list of Top 100 College Baseball programs last week, which saw Kentucky land at the No. 31 spot. The Wildcats are a program on the rise, as the Wildcats jumped 27 spots since their list from two years ago was published (58).

The 2024 edition of the Top 100 College Baseball Programs list is the fifth ever released by D1Baseball. It’s been an up-and-down rollercoaster for the Cats, as they opened at No. 54 in the inaugural list (2015). Kentucky jumped to No. 41 in 2017, but then back down to No. 58 in both 2019 and 2022. Following two consecutive Regional victories and a Men’s College World Series appearance however, Kentucky jumped to No. 31, the highest in the history of the list.

“Perhaps no transformation over the past few seasons has been as impressive as Nick Mingione’s accomplishments in Lexington,” said D1Baseball. “The Wildcats already had a sparkling new ballpark before the past two seasons, but now, the program is in acceleration mode. After failing to make the NCAA tournament in 2021 and ’22, the Wildcats have made their move the past two seasons, thanks in part to good recruiting of the high school ranks and mastery of the transfer portal. UK went 40-21 two seasons ago and reached the Super Regional round, falling to Paul Skenes and eventual national champion LSU. This past season, the Wildcats won the SEC regular season championship, were a national seed and made the program’s first trip to the College World Series. UK has a unique recruiting profile, a fantastic ballpark, an emerging fan base, and certainly, a ton of helium moving forward on the college baseball landscape.”

Kentucky jumped 13 spots from 2015 to 2017 after going 71-45 (34-26) over that two season span. The Cats however dropped way down to No. 58 in 2019 after posting a 60-51 (20-40) over that two season span. They remained at No. 58 in 2022 after a combined 73-55 (24-36) record from 2020-2022, before jumping to the No. 31 spot with a 86-37 (38-22) over the last two seasons.

Cats on the Rise

Kentucky Proud Park, which opened in 2019, has been host to some of the biggest matchups in the sport over the past two seasons. In fact, the nine most attended games in the park’s six-year history all occurred in the past two seasons. Kentucky’s Super Regional clinching game against Oregon State on June 9 saw the record set, as 7,558 fans filed into the beautiful ballpark to witness the Cats punch their ticket to the Men’s College World Series.

Incoming ninth-year head coach Nick Mingione 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 last season. 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.

The Cats are building their greatest recruiting classes in program history, as well as continuing with the recent tradition of bringing in slam dunk additions from the Transfer Portal. The Kentucky Baseball program has never been in a better spot.

Amongst all 63 Power-Four teams with a baseball program, Kentucky holds the seventh best W/L% (69.92%) since the start of the 2023 season. In that span, the Cats have compiled an 86-37 record with two Lexington Regional victories. Just Virginia (75%), 2024 National Champion Tennessee (74.82%), Wake Forest (73.02%), Arkansas (71.9%), Clemson (71.54%), and 2023 National Champion LSU (70.8%) sit ahead of the Cats.

The future remains bright for the Bat Cats, who have solidified a solid foundation to keep on building on.