Three members of Kentucky's 2026 class will play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic, plus a rankings update from Perfect Game and news of a new commitment.
Kentucky baseball’s 2025 schedule was released on Friday. The slate begins and ends in Nashville, with an opening series at Lipscomb and a closing series against SEC power Vanderbilt. There’s also a third road series in the Music City against Belmont that begins on Feb. 21. The Wildcats will “play a schedule it hopes will help create a strong RPI in its quest for a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth,” according to a press release.
The 53-game schedule includes 29 home games and 24 road contests. The SEC schedule, released in September, features likely preseason top 25 teams Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. In total, the Wildcats play 11 teams that made it to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M, Tennessee and Florida joined Kentucky in Omaha, with the Wildcats playing Texas A&M and Florida in the College World Series. Tennessee was the 2024 national champion.
Conor Essenburg, a 6-2, 200-pound two-way player from Manhattan, Illinois, committed to Kentucky on Thursday. Essenburg flipped his commitment from Kansas State and is both a lefthanded pitcher and a first baseman. Essenburg played with the Cincinnati Reds Scout Team in the recent WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Florida. He was also a member of the 16U/17U National Team Development Program with USA Baseball.
Commitment graphic from Conor Essenburg’s Twitter account.
On the mound, Essenburg’s fastball has topped 94 miles per hour, according to Perfect Game, and he also has a slider, curveball and changeup. He’s ranked in the top-200 by both Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report, making him the Wildcats’ second-highest ranked commit according to Perfect Game, and fourth-highest according to PBR.
Kentucky’s class is likely done for 2025, though it’s always possible there could be a late development. If it’s finished, the Wildcats will end up with a strong class. Perfect Game currently ranks the class 24th nationally, with one top-100 commitment (Owen Jenkins) and six players overall in the top-500.
If PBR compiles a national team rankings list, I haven’t found it. However, PBR likes Kentucky’s class more than Perfect Game. The Wildcats have eight commitments in the top-500 of PBR’s rankings, including three players in the top 100. Jenkins, outfielder Braxton Van Cleave and righthanded pitcher Joshua Flores all rank in the top 100. Essenburg was joined by infielder Caeden Cloud in the top 150.
The fall signing period for college baseball begins on Nov. 13.
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Derek Terry is the founder of Bat Cats Central, a leading source for University of Kentucky baseball coverage. Before leaving full-time sportswriting, Derek worked for The Cats' Pause (2017-22) and Cats Illustrated (2015-17).
