KSR Today: Kentucky Baseball begins SEC Tournament run

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. I hope you’ve got your lucky UK shirt on because it’s a very important day for the Kentucky Baseball team. This afternoon, the No. 8 seed Bat Cats take on No. 9 seed Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover. It’s a single-elimination round, so the winner meets No. 1 seed Florida on Wednesday, while the loser goes home.

Kentucky (36-17, 16-14 SEC) is projected to get a top-ten seed in the NCAA Tournament, but a solid performance in Hoover will boost the Cats’ chances of hosting a regional for the first time since 2017. After losing the series to Florida over the weekend, Kentucky fell six spots to No. 25 in D1 Baseball’s rankings on Monday, one spot behind today’s opponent, the Crimson Tide.

Since Alabama fired head coach Brad Bohannon earlier this season amid a betting scandal, the Crimson Tide are 8-2 with series victories over Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. Not only do they have momentum, they’ll have the home crowd advantage at Hoover Metropolitan Complex, just an hour from Tuscaloosa.

First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. ET. You can watch live on SEC Network. Daniel Hager is in Hoover to cover it all for us, so follow him on Twitter (@DanielHagerKSR) and/or join the game thread on KSBoard for updates. (If you’re in Hoover, be sure to check out his visitor’s guide.)

Here’s today’s schedule and the complete bracket:

DATE	AWAY	HOME	GAME INFO
10:30 AM ET	Georgia (No. 11 seed)	South Carolina (No. 6 seed)	SEC Network
2:00 PM ET	Texas A&M (No. 10 seed)	#13 Tennessee (No. 7 seed)	SEC Network
5:30 PM ET	#24 Alabama (No. 9 seed)	#25 Kentucky (No. 8 seed)	SEC Network
9:00 PM ET	Missouri (No. 12 seed)	#19 Auburn (No. 5 seed)	SEC Network

Here’s what else is happening in the wide world of Kentucky sports and beyond…

NBA Playoffs: Jamal Murray, Denver advance to first Finials, Heat go for sweep

Try as he might, LeBron James couldn’t stop the Los Angeles Lakers from being swept. James scored 40 points — 31 in the first half — but missed two tying shots in the final seconds to allow the Denver Nuggets to win 113-11 and advance to their first-ever NBA Finals. Former Cat Jamal Murray had 25 points and Nikola Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists, his eighth triple-double of the playoffs. Afterward, Jokic shared his respect for Murray, who battled back from a torn ACL.

"He's a special player in this league."

Nikola Jokic praises his teammate Jamal Murray on his resilience for coming back from injury to play at a high level in this Playoff run 🔊 #NBAConferenceFinals presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/6DvD1XvFTl

— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2023

The other big quote that’s making the rounds this morning is LeBron James hinting at retirement. The 38-year-old previously said he wanted to stay in the league long enough to play with his son, Bronny, who will be a freshman at USC this fall, but told reporters last night that he needs to reevaluate his future this offseason.

LeBron James: "I've got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about."

The words that rocked the basketball world. pic.twitter.com/zkUaUm4tuk

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) May 23, 2023

So, we’ve got one former Cat in the NBA Finals; tonight, two more will look to join him. In the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro) looks to complete the sweep of the Boston Celtics. Game Four tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET from Miami on TNT.

A win tonight would send Miami to the NBA Finals for the seventh time since 2006. The Heat would join the 1999 New York Knicks as the only No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals. If they do it, there’s still a chance Tyler Herro could play in the Finals. Herro fractured his right hand in Game 1 of the first round and hasn’t played since. On Sunday, Allie LaForce reported that Herro’s brace has been removed, but he has yet to be cleared to shoot with his right hand.

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Roster Rumblings: Time to worry about Reeves?

Closer to home, speculation continues regarding Kentucky’s 2023-24 roster. Yesterday whispers about Antonio Reeves turned into rumblings, with word spreading that the sharpshooter is leaning towards staying in the NBA Draft or transferring elsewhere. After speaking with Reeves’ side, Jack Pilgrim shared what he’s hearing on KSBoard. In short, Reeves’ camp has NIL and role concerns, and Kentucky needs to step it up if they want to keep him in Lexington.

Yesterday, Reeves worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks. He, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Chris Livingston have until May 31 to make their NBA Draft decisions.

If Reeves doesn’t return, where will Kentucky turn to fill the hole on the perimeter? On Monday, news also broke that the staff reached out to Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer, who averaged 13.2 points per game on 44.4% shooting last season and made 72 threes at a 43.4% clip. How serious Kentucky’s interest is in Spencer remains to be known, as UConn, Georgetown, Indiana, Miami (FL), and Texas are also contenders.

Kentucky makes John Welch’s hiring official; freshmen arriving on campus next week

In other basketball news, Kentucky officially announced the hiring of John Welch as an assistant coach. He will focus on offensive strategy, scouting and game-planning, and individual player training/development.

Also, Rob Dillingham told fans on Instagram Live that he’s leaving for Lexington on June 1. A source told Zack Geoghegan that Reed Sheppard will also arrive on campus next week, either May 31 or June 1. The other players should follow suit soon. DJ Wagner was actually in town recently for the LexExotics launch party as part of his NIL deal with the luxury car club.

A big shoutout to DJ Wagner who came out to the launch party to support 💪@KentuckyMBB is getting an absolute baller. pic.twitter.com/887rfjCWHJ

— Lex Exotics (@LexExotics) May 22, 2023

Kentucky’s first satellite camps begin on Saturday, June 3, bringing with them media opportunities. As you can see in our summer calendar, the offseason doesn’t really exist for Kentucky sports. there’s something happening every week from now until the football season opener vs. Ball State.

Liam Draxl, Joshua Lapadat advance in NCAA Singles Tournament

Two of three Wildcats are moving on in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament. Yesterday, Liam Draxl defeated North Carolina’s Brian Cernoch 6-0, 6-4, and Joshua Lapadat beat Presbyterian’s Dusan Milanovic 7-5, 6-2. Alafia Ayena lost a three-set battle to Ohio State’s James Trotter.

Today, Draxl and Lapadat will play in the Round of 32 in Orlando, Florida. Draxl faces TCU’s Jacob Fearnley at 1:30 p.m. ET and Lapadat plays UVA’s Chris Rodesch at 3 p.m. You can watch the matches live on the Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel.

Go Cats.