The first big roster win of Kentucky's offseason became official on Saturday morning.
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Hudson Brown will not go through the 2026 MLB Draft process and is returning to Lexington next season, the school announced.
"After many prayers and thoughtful consideration, I have decided I will be returning to Kentucky," Brown said in a statement. "The support from my coaches, teammates, family, friends, and BBN means the world to me and I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue to grow on and off the field. I am looking forward to helping this team compete at the highest level."
Brown slashed .333/.475/.553 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 39 RBIs in 2026. He missed 12 games during the season while recovering from mono. The Wildcats missed his tough at-bats and edge that he brought to the lineup while he was gone, but Brown returned in the last month of the season and picked up where he left off.
He closed out the postseason with two homers, four RBIs and a walk against West Virginia in the Morgantown Regional.
What Brown's return means for Kentucky
Kentucky now has a cornerstone piece to build around offensively. Brown took a leap from year one to year two, finishing with 19 extra base hits compared to 12 in his redshirt freshman season. However, Brown drew 28 walks compared to just 27 strikeouts, an excellent indicator that he can control the zone. If he taps into even more power, Brown could be looking at an All-SEC campaign as a junior.
Brown certainly would've had interest had he chosen to keep his name in the draft. Joe Doyle of Overslot Baseball had Brown No. 201 in his MLB draft rankings.
"Brown's size and physicality shows up in his metrics under the hood," Doyle wrote. "His exit velocities have surpassed 113 mph, supporting the eye test of comfortably plus bat speed. Brown uses ground leverage and rotates hard through the zone, showcasting above average bat-to-ball skills. His approach has also been much improved with chase rates tumbling into a more impressive range. There's no way around it; Brown's pitch selection and approach has improved into a good spot this year. It's not without some yellow flags, however. Brown does have some length in his swing and it's given him issues at times catching up to velocity, but he balances that small wart out by handling breaking balls at a reasonably elite level for a player of his size and archetype."
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As Kentucky builds out its roster for the 2027 season, it now has a middle-of-the-order bat to lean on. Ethan Hindle, the best power hitter from the 2026 season, is expected to decide his future after the MLB draft. It's possible that he will return as well, but it's unlikely that his decision will be known before then.
With that said, promising freshman Braxton Van Cleave is expected to return next season, as is third baseman Caeden Cloud. Van Cleave was reinserted into the lineup on April 17 against Vanderbilt and hit a walk-off grand slam in a 5-2 win. A tough injury in Game 2 against Arkansas took him out of the lineup for the series finale and SEC Tournament game against Vanderbilt, but the lengthy break between games allowed him to return for the NCAA Tournament. He drove in six runs in the Morgantown Regional and hit a two-run homer in the first inning of Saturday's 11-9 win off West Virginia ace Maxx Yehl. Van Cleave slashed .274/.337/.516 with five doubles, six home runs and 27 runs driven in as a freshman.
Cloud will look to take a step forward offensively in Year 2. He hit eight doubles and four homers as a freshman and played well defensively for most of the season. Cloud had some defensive hiccups in the postseason and ran a high K-rate in conference games (39.7%), but he showed enough this season to expect him in the starting lineup at third base again to begin next season. He has the tools to be a solid starter for the Wildcats, and he'll look to build on a freshman season that had some promise.
But it's still the early stages of the postseason. While the corner infield spots and at least one corner outfield spot are likely locked down, the Wildcats must replace every catching inning from last season, as well as both starters in the middle infield and likely in center field since Jayce Tharnish is expected to be drafted in the top 10 rounds.
Hindle's decision will be one to follow closely. If he chooses to return, Kentucky will have some of its most promising hitters from the 2026 team back for another season.
To date, Kentucky has a portal commitment from corner outfielder Brody Chrisman.
