KSR Gameday: Kentucky tries to stay alive in the College World Series
After six straight postseason wins, the Cats ran into a wall last night vs. Texas A&M. Kentucky fell to the Aggies 5-1 in their second game in the College World Series. Now, the Cats must win three games in three days to make it to the finals, starting with an elimination game vs. Florida tonight.
It just wasn’t the Cats’ night on many levels. Texas A&M’s ace pitcher Ryan Prager turned in a stellar performance, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings and allowing only two hits. Kentucky didn’t even get a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning. Thanks to Ryan Nicholson’s solo home run in the ninth inning — his 23rd of the season, which ties the program record — the Cats at least got on the board, but it was too little too late.
The sixth inning spelled Kentucky’s doom. After an impressive start, Mason Moore hit his limit, issuing a leadoff walk and double to start the inning. Hayden Schott drove home the first two runs of the game to get the Aggies on the board. One more walk later, Cam O’Brien took over for Moore but didn’t fare much better, giving up an RBI double and a two-run single to extend Texas A&M’s lead to five. While Kentucky held the Aggies scoreless in the final three innings, outside of Nicholson’s home run, they couldn’t muster enough offense to stay alive.
Tonight, Kentucky faces Florida, a rematch of the series in May, which Kentucky won 2-1. The Gators are led by Jac Caglianone, a projected top-five MLB Draft pick. You may remember him for what he said about Kentucky’s “nonsense” antics after the Cats won the final game of the series 7-5.
“All their nonsense that they do, it’s what they’re known for. They’re not a team that’s going to smack the ball all over the yard, for sure. They’re just one of those teams. They’re going to try to get in your head, they’re going to try chanting, all that nonsense.
“The fact that it’s allowed kind of blows my mind, but that’s just how they do it. We do it our way.”
Wouldn’t it feel good to send Caglianone and the Gators home on the biggest stage? The Cats will have the chance tonight — if Mother Nature allows. Thunderstorms are forecasted for Omaha starting this afternoon, so this game could be pushed to Wednesday, which wouldn’t be the worst thing so the Cats can get some rest.
CWS: Postgame Press Conference, Rapid Reaction
Whenever the game does take place, Mingione wants his team to keep this message in mind.
“The last five national champions lost at least one game,” Mingione said after the game. “Sometimes playing every day and back-to-back days you can get your momentum going, you can get in the rhythm and flow. If that’s what it takes, you’ve got to do it.”
KSR’s Daniel Hager and Steven Peake reacted to the loss and what the Cats must do to bounce back in a not-so-happy Rapid Reaction.
CWS: Updated Bracket
Here’s a look at the updated bracket. Kentucky vs. Florida is the second game of the day at 7 p.m. ET, with Florida State vs. North Carolina taking place at 2 p.m. ET. Again, the weather could have a big impact on today’s schedule.
How to Watch, Listen
No. 2 Kentucky (46-15) vs Florida (35-29)
7:00 p.m. ET | Tuesday, June 17 | Charles Schwab Field
- TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Kyle Peterson, Kris Budden)
- Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Darren Headrick, Keith Madison)
- Online Radio: iHeart
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Game Thread: KSBoard
Jello Shot Challenge: Tennessee, Texas A&M increase lead
Plenty of blue has gotten into Omaha, but so far, the BBN is no match for Tennessee or Texas A&M in Rocco’s CWS Jello Shot Challenge. The Vols were already well ahead of the pack but yesterday, the Aggies started to close that gap with a huge Monday showing. Kentucky remains in third with just over 6,000 Jello Shots purchased.
Football: Three 4-star recruits on campus for official visits
Elsewhere within UK Athletics, it’s a busy week for the football staff, which is hosting some very important official visitors. Four-star linebacker Christian Gass arrived in town yesterday and will be joined by four-star wide receiver Andrew Marsh and four-star cornerback Dawayne Galloway today. The visits come on the heels of two commitments, one on Sunday from three-star wide receiver Ja’Kayden Ferguson and one bright and early Monday morning from three-star cornerback Andrew Purcell. Both had just completed official visits to Kentucky.
Will that momentum continue today? Check out Zack Geoghen’s official visit preview to learn more about today’s guests. Kentucky’s 2025 class now ranks No. 23 in the On3 Industry Rankings.
Men’s Basketball: Jasper Johnson visits; Acaden Lewis, Nate Ament pick up offers
Could we get some a boom to go with a Yahtzee? There was also big Kentucky Basketball recruiting news on Monday when 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis received an offer while on an unofficial visit. The 6’3″ 170 lbs. Maryland native is a rising star on the Nike EYBL circuit, averaging 15.3 points, 3.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals through 15 games. Top 15 2025 prospect Nate Ament also picked up an offer from Kentucky on Monday. Mark Pope and Cody Fueger recruited Ament, a 6’9″, 170 lbs. wing from Virginia, while at BYU. He is AAU teammates with five-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who received an offer from Kentucky last week.
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Today, Lexington’s own Jasper Johnson will stop by the Joe Craft Center to meet with Mark Pope and his staff. The five-star shooting guard is No. 10 in the 2025 On3 Industry Rankings and one of Kentucky’s top targets in the class. Earlier this month, Mark Pope went all the way to Argentina to see Johnson and Ament win a gold medal with Team USA in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. Here’s hoping Johnson feels at home in the comfy confines of Kentucky’s practice facility.
Men’s Basketball: Practice is underway!
Johnson may have the opportunity to see the current team in action. Yesterday, Kentucky tipped off summer workouts and we got our first glimpse of a Mark Pope Kentucky practice. UK released a 30-second clip of Pope talking to the team, encouraging his players to go “100% full speed ahead.” A few hours later, they released a minute-long clip with some actual action.
Our first look at a Mark Pope Kentucky practice 😍 pic.twitter.com/3C5DsEgDWn
— KSR (@KSRonX) June 17, 2024
More footage of Kentucky’s first practice 🎥 pic.twitter.com/fgp29VQ01W
— KSR (@KSRonX) June 17, 2024
In the photos UK put out, it appears Pope even showed them a thing or two himself. Notice his custom denim Converse All Star BB Trilliant CX sneakers.
Who is making an early impression? Jack Pilgrim is working the phones to bring you all the rumblings on KSBoard. On the recruiting front, Jacob Polacheck is churning out daily interviews with every player Pope and his staff have offered or reached out to thus far. KSR Plus is just $1 for 1 month for new subscribers. If you haven’t tried it out yet, now is the perfect time.
TBT: La Familia will announce its head coach
La Familia’s roster for The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is now up to ten former Wildcats: Eric Bledsoe (2009-10), Daniel Orton (2009-10), Doron Lamb (2010-12), Marquis Teague (2011-12), Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15), James Young (2013-14), Andrew Harrison (2013-15), Reid Travis (2018-19), Nate Sestina (2019-20), and Kellan Grady (2021-22). Today, we’ll find out who will coach them. Check the site around lunch to see who will guide La Familia in its quest for the $1 million grand prize.
The Lexington Regional takes place July 19-23 at Rupp Arena. On June 26, the bracket and matchups will be announced. Tickets for the Lexington Regional are on sale now at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets.
NBA Finals: Celtics win 18th Championship
Jayson Tatum finally did it. Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 106-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks to clinch their 18th NBA Championship, which passes the Lakers for the most in league history. The Celtics led the Mavs by 21 at halftime, capped off with a halfcourt shot by Payton Pritchard to send TD Garden into a frenzy.
It was a rough night for former Cat PJ Washington, who had just four points in 34 minutes on 2-7 from the floor and 0-5 from three-point land. Luka Doncic was the only Dallas player with 20+ points, finishing with 28. Alas, they’ll get their shot again next year. The 2023-24 NBA season is officially over.
Big day on KSR the Show
KSR is live at a secret location today as the Summer Business Spotlight Tour continues. Ryan, Shannon, and Mario will be joined by Kentucky Basketball legends Goose Givens, Kyle Macy, and Rick Robey. Sounds like the perfect way to start your Tuesday if you ask me. The fun starts one hour from now on WKRD and affiliates across the state or right now on the KSR Preshow.
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