Kentucky will see familiar face this weekend in series with Georgia

by:Daniel Hager•about 10 hours•

DanielHagerKSR

Kentucky-will-see-familiar-face-weekend-series-with-Georgia — Nolan McCarthy and Mitch Barnhart (Photo by UK Athletics)

Kentucky Baseball opens SEC play this weekend on the road at No. 4 Georgia. There, they’ll see a familiar face that was an integral part in the Wildcats’ run to a Super Regional in 2023 and the Men’s College World Series in 2024.

Former Kentucky outfielder Nolan McCarthy transferred to Georgia this offseason for his final season of College Baseball. He followed hitting coach Nick Ammirati, who was also poached by the Bulldogs in the offseason. It was quite the surprising move, as McCarthy had established himself as a program legend during his time in Lexington.

McCarthy had multiple iconic moments at Kentucky, but none were bigger than when scored the go-ahead run from second base on a wild pitch in an eventual 3-2 win over Oregon State to send the Wildcats to the College World Series.

In three seasons at Kentucky, the Kalamazoo, MI native played in 125 games and hit for a career .279 average with 22 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs and 78 RBI.

He is playing some of the baseball of his career at Georgia this season however, as he boasts a .333 average with three home runs and 12 RBI in just 20 games. His .333 average ranks third on the team.

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“That’s one of the cool things about College Baseball,” Nick Mingione said about McCarthy following Kenutcky’s 9-2 win over NIU on Tuesday. “Obviously you wish him well, not while they’re playing us of course. But we’ll make sure we say hi and do all that, but these guys are super mature about separating while the game is going on.”

So far this season, it’s been a struggle to replace McCarthy in the Wildcat lineup. Memphis transfer Will Marcy has started in 12 games in center field, but has hit for just a .115 average in 26 at-bats. San Diego State transfer Shaun Montoya has slid from right to center in the other three games, and is faring better with a .321 average. Still, McCarthy leaving was a huge blow to the ‘Cats.

The former ‘Cat is one of many talented players loading up the Georgia lineup, which has won 16 consecutive games. Kentucky will have its hand full this weekend as it looks to start SEC play with a top-five ranked series victory.