Returning player spotlight: Ethan Hindle

Programming note: I will be on vacation this upcoming week. A story on Nate Harris for the returning player spotlight series will run on Monday, but I likely won't post anything else until I get back to Lexington toward the end of the week.

Today's featured player in the returning player spotlight series is junior infielder Ethan Hindle.

Previous player spotlights:

• Hudson Brown
• Ben Cleaver

Background

A rare Kentucky baseball player from Wisconsin, Hindle was the top-rated player by Perfect Game to sign with the Wildcats in the 2023 recruiting class. Hindle impressed enough to earn a backup role as a freshman and appeared in seven games, including four starts, while regular third baseman Mitch Daly dealt with an injury. He only had 12 at-bats and hit .083, but in hindsight, it was a sneak peek at what we saw in Hindle's sophomore season. Hindle walked twice and was hit by a pitch twice, making his on-base percentage .313 despite a slugging percentage under .175.

In 2025, Hindle played in 25 games and moved into a starting role at third base in mid-April before a foot injury in practice ended his season. It wasn't the biggest sample size, but Hindle drew 13 walks and was hit-by-pitch 19 times. If you combine those two, he reached base via free pass 32 times compared to 22 strikeouts. Hindle only had 13 hits, but seven of those went for extra bases as he hit four doubles and homered three times.