Notebook: Fall exhibitions scheduled, Cats on the board in 2028 class

Tuesday wound up being newsy as it relates to Kentucky baseball, a rarity this time of year when roster-building is complete but fall ball is still over a month away.

In January of 2025, the NCAA approved legislation that increased the number of fall exhibitions from two to four. Mark Etheridge of D1baseball.com had the scoop on Kentucky's opponents:

Kentucky will make its annual trip to Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, to take on nearby Cincinnati. The Wildcats have played several different opponents at Prasco Park over the years, including Wright State, Michigan and West Virginia. Cincinnati has reached back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and is led by third-year coach Jordan Bischel.

The first of two scrimmages at Kentucky Proud Park is the following Sunday against Xavier. The Musketeers, coached by Billy O'Conner, were once a yearly opponent in the regular season. Kentucky is 16-2 all-time against the Musketeers and played every year except for 2009 between 2006-19, but the programs have met just twice since 2020. Xavier defeated Kentucky 9-3 in Lexington during the 2025 season.

A scrimmage in Bloomington is a fun change of pace. Like Xavier, Kentucky has plenty of history with the Hoosiers but the programs haven't met since playing four times during the 2023 season. They met three times in the Lexington Regional that year, with Kentucky winning the final two to advance to the Super Regionals for just the second time in program history. The games were tense, with Indiana coach Jeff Mercer saying in his postgame interview that the series between the teams was over because Kentucky had canceled.

"Kentucky canceled the series last year," Mercer said "Kentucky and Indiana is no longer a series, they called and canceled it. This is the last time we're playing them unless it's in the postseason. They asked if we want to keep coming down here, but I'm not coming down here without a return trip. So it's done."

While it's been three years since they've met in the regular season, perhaps some of the bad blood is in the past if Kentucky is traveling to Bloomington for an exhibition. Mercer coached Kentucky assistant Chase Slone at Wright State, and hired Matt Morrow from the Wildcats' staff earlier this summer.

Finally, Kentucky will wrap up the fall with Morehead State. The Wildcats have played the Eagles in the fall the past few years and often see them in the regular season as well.

Kentucky on the board in 2028

Direct contact between Division I coaches and high school prospects in the 2028 class began on Aug. 1. The Wildcats wasted little time adding their first commitment. Right-handed pitcher Gavin McGee of Indiana announced his commitment on social media on Tuesday.

A 6-foot, 180-pounder, McGee has been clocked as high as 94 miles per hour this summer with his fastball. In addition, McGee throws a changeup, curveball and cutter. He will attend P27 Academy in North Carolina this upcoming year.

Perfect Game ranks McGee as the No. 315 player nationally. He's currently unranked by Prep Baseball Report, but those rankings will be updated several times over the next year and a half.