Mingione Talks Draft, Recruiting; Introduces Assistant Coach Slone
Kentucky baseball head coach Nick Mingione met the media on Thursday. The purpose of the media availability was to wrap up the 2024 season and to introduce new assistant coach Chase Slone. Here are some notes from the press conference.
Season Wrap
Kentucky completed a magical 2024 season with a first-ever trip to Omaha for the College World Series. The Cats set a school record with 46 wins, won a regional for just the third time in program history and won a Super Regional for the first time. UK beat N.C. State in the opening game of the CWS at Charles Schwab Field.
Mingione knows that he and his team experienced something truly special this season.
“For them to get that opportunity, you can’t put that into words,” Mingione said. “The rest of those guys are going to realize that I can do something that I didn’t know was possible. As a coach, you gave them an experience that helped them go to a place they didn’t know existed.”
New Doors Opened
Mingione admitted that the success that his team had in 2024 has presented them with some new opportunities.
“The reception has been unbelievable. I’ve often said that the best thing to help you in recruiting is to play in Omaha,” Mingione said. “The amount of time we have spent out there was so good for us because it has opened up a whole new can of worms for us, especially from a recruiting standpoint. Especially these guys in the transfer portal. When they’re trying to decide what’s important to them, winning is typically one of them. And when we just won an SEC championship, regional championship, super regional championship and us making it to Omaha, there’s no better statement that can be made. It’s definitely gotten us in the door with a lot more players than we have in the past.”
New Assistant Coach
Mingione announced the hiring of Chase Slone as UK’s new assistant coach. Turns out that the two men have known each other for a long period of time.
“We’re super excited about Chase Slone and his addition to our staff,” Mingione said. “In the summer of 2012, I was running team camps at Mississippi State and here comes Chase and his team. He just stood out. He was literally one of my favorite campers I’ve ever had in my entire life.
“I have a great deal of respect for the type of person he is and the type of coach he is,” Mingione said. “He’s innovative. When you look at what he’s been able to do at Wright State, very similar to the type of offenses we run.”
Slone comes to the Cats from Wright State, where he was in charge of one of the nation’s offenses. He was drawn to Kentucky for several reasons, including one in particular.
“Family. Everybody’s been very welcoming, everything that you see on the field translates behind the scenes, everything is very genuine and there’s a real culture here,” Slone said. “Obviously, you saw the results that happen on the field.”
He looks forward to continuing his offensive success at Kentucky.
“I want to be a complete offense,” Slone said. “That’s what Kentucky has been here, that’s what we were at Wright State. I think you have to be able to steal and create runs in many different ways. You have to be complete, one through nine.”
When asked why he wanted to work with Mingione, Slone did not hesitate with his answer.
“His energy, his passion,” Slone said. “I feel like I’m similar in that regard. I like to get after it, I like to communicate with players. I want to work hard and that’s the way he is.”
Cats in the Draft
Seven UK players were selected in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft earlier this week. Ryan Waldschmidt (Diamondbacks), Emilien Pitre (Rays), Ryan Nicholson (Angels), Trey Pooser (Rays), Mason Moore (White Sox), Travis Smith (Brewers) and Dominic Niman (Rays) all heard their names called over the three days of the draft. Mingione was thrilled to see those players living out their dreams.
“What we get to do is pretty amazing. We get to surround ourselves with 18-24 year olds and every day, we get to watch their development. And from the time these guys were little, they dreamed of hearing their name called in the Major League Draft. The fact that we get the opportunity to help aid in that development and then see it come to light is hard to beat. I couldn’t be more thrilled. I had the chance to talk to all of them. It’s been pretty amazing.”
Cats Coming Back
A pair of key members from the 2024 UK team, catcher Devin Burkes and relief pitcher Robert Hogan, both announced that they are coming back for next season. Mingione is excited to have both of them back.
“Devin, you guys know what he means to our program,” Mingione said. “Quite frankly, he realizes that there’s parts of his game that’s got to get better and that we’ve got to improve on. At the same time, he’s coming back to a place that he loves. Hogie, the role that he played for us. These are two main pieces, one part of the pitching staff, one position player, who will definitely be big for us moving forward.”
New Shoes
Mingione was presented with a pair of shoes commemorating his National Coach of the Year honor. The custom shoes featured the name of every player on the 2024 UK roster in addition to the UK logo, the College World Series logo and more.
