Kentucky enters the top 25 for the first time since 2018

For the first time since 2018, the Kentucky baseball program is ranked. Following a sweep of traditional SEC power Mississippi State, the Wildcats appeared at No. 23 in D1Baseball.com’s poll and No. 25 in Baseball America’s rankings. Kentucky, which was predicted to finish sixth in the SEC East by the league’s coaches in the preseason, has a nation-leading 14-game winning streak. Head coach Nick Mingione’s ballclub has not lost since Feb. 25, a remarkable winning streak in baseball no matter the opponents on the schedule.

Is a top-25 ranking in the middle of March cause for a grand celebration? Of course not. Kentucky’s season is still relatively young as nearly two months and nine SEC series remain in the regular season. How Kentucky plays over that stretch will determine whether the program returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.

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But everything is relative in sports. What’s celebrated as an achievement at one school doesn’t cause a stir at another. At Kentucky, being ranked in the top 25 at any point means something. And this group, which had plenty of legitimate questions coming into the season, has absolutely earned its way to national recognition. 

Following a 2-0 shutout loss in the season-opener at Elon, Kentucky has reeled off wins in 19 of its next 20 games. The only loss came to Wright State on Feb. 25 in a game that Kentucky trailed by eight runs but cut down to two before the Raiders ultimately pulled away for the victory. It has done it both on the mound and at the plate. First baseman Hunter Gilliam, on the heels of National Player of the Week recognition, blasted two more homers over the weekend to set the tone at the plate. Kentucky also continues to receive exceptional play from breakout sophomore Emilien Pitre, who is hitting a blistering .429 this season and owns an on-base percentage of .544. Other players like Devin Burkes, Ryan Waldschmidt and Jackson Gray continue to come into their own. And in Friday night’s win, No. 9 hitter Grant Smith delivered the clutch game-tying RBI in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Bat Cats went on to win 6-5 in extras.

But it’s been the pitching that has been as good as advertised. The Wildcats currently rank in the top five of the SEC in earned run average (2.88), opposing batting average (.197), hits allowed (124), runs allowed (60) and walks allowed (64). Kentucky has gotten production from both the starting rotation and the bullpen, making this one of the more complete units the program has seen in years. 

Overall, Kentucky has put itself in a position for fans to be excited about what can be achieved. RPI isn’t the best tool to be used right now because it will change so much over the next seven to eight weeks, but the Wildcats currently rank in the top five nationally in the metric. A brutal stretch awaits this group in April, but building up wins in the early portion of conference play could provide some cushion to sustain any tough weekends. The Wildcats travel to Alabama this weekend, return home for a series against another surprising early-season opponent in Missouri and then hit the road once again for a three-game tilt at Georgia. If the Wildcats can make it through that stretch with a bare minimum record of 5-4 in those nine games, it will be sitting in a nice spot at 8-4 in league play. At that point, one win per weekend over the final six series could be enough to get the Wildcats back in the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, this team will have higher aspirations than that. It’ll strive to take every weekend series and host an NCAA regional at Kentucky Proud Park for the first time ever. There’s a lot of ball to be played before we get that far ahead, but returning to the top 25 for the first time in five years is a well-deserved honor for this team.

Martin nearing return

Senior right-handed pitcher Logan Martin has missed the past two series as he recovers from an injury. He threw a bullpen session on Monday and could return to the mound this weekend against Alabama. Martin has made three starts this season and has a 4.20 ERA in 15 innings, including 18 strikeouts. He threw a season-high six innings and struck out eight batters in an 8-3 win over Wright State on Feb. 24. Seventh-year senior Darren Williams has started the past two Friday games for the Wildcats.

The week ahead

Kentucky hosts Eastern Kentucky University on Tuesday night at Kentucky Proud Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Redshirt freshman Travis Smith will take the mound for the Wildcats. This weekend, Kentucky travels to Alabama for its first SEC road series. The Crimson Tide are 17-4 on the season and dropped two out of three games on the road at Florida this past weekend.

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