Notebook: Nate Harris in rare company for UK freshman pitchers

In addition to Harris, information on this being UK's best run in the SEC in program history and an early look at the transfer portal.

On Thursday, Kentucky freshman righthanded pitcher Nate Harris will pitch for the last time in the regular season. It will be the 12th start of his freshman campaign, which has seen him go from the midweek starter early in the season to Friday night mainstay. In fact, more of his starts this year have come in SEC play than in the non-conference.

But he’s entered rare company for true freshmen Kentucky pitchers, especially once the transfer portal became a major player in college baseball in the 2022 season. Harris’ 49.1 innings this year place him second among all innings pitched for a true freshman in the Nick Mingione era, trailing only Zack Thompson, who threw 75 innings in 2017. It’s unlikely that Harris will pitch enough for the remainder of this season to catch Thompson, but he can put some distance between himself and the others on the list.

Daniel Harper (2018) and Dillon Marsh (2019) both threw 49 innings in their freshman season. But in the portal era — when freshmen began facing much stiffer competition to get into the rotation — Harris has blown past all other first-year players. Here are the innings leaders among freshmen for the past three seasons:

• 2022: Mason Moore (22 IP)

• 2023: Christian Howe (8 IP)

• 2024: Drew Lafferty (21 IP)

The highlight of his freshman year to date came on April 26 against South Carolina. In the first game of a doubleheader, Harris gave up just two earned runs over seven innings and struck out seven Gamecocks. Both were career highs. Although he’s had a couple of shorter outings, he’s provided stability in the rotation at a time it needed it.

Ultimately, for the first time in several years, Kentucky should bring back a starting pitcher who not only helped the team win games but will have two years of eligibility remaining before being eligible for the MLB draft. Harris’ progression has been one of the better storylines for the program thus far in 2025.

The golden era of UK baseball in the SEC

Photo by Ethan Rand of UK Athletics.

Sunday’s 7-2 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma to complete the sweep was massive for the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes. With a 13-14 record in the league, Kentucky likely needs just one win in Nashville against Vanderbilt to feel good about its NCAA standing. But it also guaranteed one other thing: the Wildcats have officially clinched their winningest four-year stretch in regular season SEC play in program history.