Nick Mingione reflects on Coach of the Year award, journey at Kentucky

Earlier this week, Nick Mingione won the National Coach of the Year award from Perfect Game, his second such honor. The first came in his first season at Kentucky, 2017, when the Cats reached their first-ever Super Regional. Seven years later, Mingione and Kentucky are playing in the program’s first-ever College World Series, a ride that has included just as many lows as highs.

Mingione has spent a lot of time reflecting on that journey this week. After Kentucky beat Oregon State to claim a spot in Omaha on Sunday night, he broke down in tears on ESPNU talking about Mitch Barnhart taking a chance on him in 2017. At the press conference a few minutes later, he opened up on how he overcame his struggles in 2022 to turn the program back around. Now, amidst what he’s calling the best two weeks of his life, Mingione has Kentucky five wins away from a national championship, a moment he says wouldn’t be possible without lessons learned and an incredible supporting cast.

“I was naive,” Mingione said of his first season. “My first year, win SEC Coach of the Year, National Coach of the Year, I would be lying if I wasn’t, like, man, that was a little easier than I thought, and boy, was I wrong.

“I hope you appreciate my transparency because this game in life will humble you in a second, as you know. The thing I’ve learned about these awards are they really are team awards, and I congratulated our staff because that is an award you legitimately could not do by yourself.”

Mingione credited a long list of people for the team’s success, from the players and coaches to the trainers, managers, administrators, fans, and his wife Christen and son Reeves, who sat next to him at the podium.

“There is no way that you can ever win one of those awards without having yourself being surrounded with amazing people,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of things wrong as a head coach, and I make mistakes. And I’m sure I’ll make a mistake in this College World Series, but I have absolutely hit a grand slam or threw a perfect game or whatever you want to say with the people I’ve surrounded myself with.”

Kentucky opens College World Series play vs. NC State on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET. Time to make some more memories.

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KSR the show may not be headed to Omaha this weekend, but the website will be well-represented. KSR baseball beat writer Daniel Hager and videographer Steven Peake are in Omaha to capture all the action and excitement for Kentucky’s first College World Series appearance. They’ll be sharing all of their adventures on the site, social media, and special editions of “Bat Cat Beat” and Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube Channel, so make sure you’re following and subscribed to keep up with the Cats.

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