Ryan Nicholson named Lexington Regional MOP

Kentucky first baseman Ryan Nicholson was named Lexington Regional Most Outstanding Player following Kentucky’s Regional-clinching 5-0 win over Indiana State on Sunday.

Lexington Regional Most Outstanding Player: Ryan Nicholson. pic.twitter.com/solMvbnubg

— Daniel Hager (@DanielHagerKSR) June 3, 2024

Nicholson went 3-11 at the plate in the series with two home runs and four RBI.

Along with Nicholson, Devin Burkes, Émilien Pitre, Mitch Daly, Ryan Waldschmidt, Trey Pooser, and Mason Moore were named to the Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team.

The Louisville native transferred from Cincinnati to Kentucky in the offseason and did not experience immediate success in Lexington.

Nicholson didn’t hit his first home run until Kentucky’s 14th game of the season, but once he broke the seal, he entered the fast track to history.

He belted his 20th home run of the season on Sunday, setting the record for most home runs hit in a season at Kentucky in the Nick Mingione era (2017-2024). Mingione spoke highly of Nicholson postgame.

“Number one, again, a guy from Kentucky, from Louisville, is playing for his state school,” Mingione said. “It’s just awesome. It’s awesome. And the thing about Ryan is he always believed in himself. He knew that he didn’t a lot of times get off to good starts, but he fully believed in himself, and there was a time where he was going through a hard time. I met with the coaches and I said I’m going to meet with Ryan. I need to talk to him individually. Ryan doesn’t know this. I said I want to check his heart. I just want to make sure that his heart is right. And we had an amazing conversation. And I went back and I’m, like, guys, he’s going to be fine. That guy needs to be our first baseman — and for a lot of reasons.”

Kentucky will host the winner of the Corvallis Regional, either Oregon State or UC-Irvine, in next week’s Lexington Super Regional. Dates and times will be revealed at a later date.