Part 1 (Storm Wilson) – Part 2 (JaVon Shelby) Kyle Barrett joined the Kentucky roster for his freshman season without big expectations for him to be an instant-impact performer. He quickly dispelled any notions of low expectations. Barrett burst onto the scene with a Freshman All-Southeastern Conference campaign in 2013, leading the Wildcats with a .349 average in his debut season. He pushed his way into UK’s everyday lineup, showcasing a top-of-the-order skill-set that features blazing speed and an opposite-field, line-drive approach. “Coach Green and Coach Henderson had a lot of confidence in me,” Barrett said about his freshman season. “I came in not knowing what to expect. Everyone here is the best of the best from wherever they come from. When I was in high school I was a big fish in a small pond and you come to college and everyone has skill. I worked my way up little by little and they threw me out there against Eastern (Kentucky) and I got a couple hits, then Michigan State they started me on Saturday. I played well, I had a double down the leftfield line against Michigan State and that is when I knew that I could belong and knew I could hit a little bit.”Barrett didn’t stop hitting after his freshman season. He ventured to the Perfect Game Collegiate League for the summer, earning all-star honors and leading his Amsterdam team to the league title. He changed expectations from those which he entered his freshman year with. He was UK’s opening-day rightfielder and leadoff hitter for UK’s win over No. 1 Virginia and went on to start 32 of Kentucky’s first 34 games before facing adversity for the first time in his career. “Last year, mentally I just wasn’t right,” Barrett said. “If you look at my stats, I really wasn’t hitting bad and then I looked around, saw AJ, Max, MT hitting above .400 and I was hitting in the .300s and was thinking that was bad so I tried to do more, swing a little harder and get out of my thinking process. I wasn’t really hitting it bad, I was just trying to do more than I should’ve and I got out of who I was need to be at the plate.”After fighting through a brief slump during the Missouri series and with UK freshman outfielder Storm Wilson battling for the SEC freshman lead in homers, in addition to a blistering-hot pace, Barrett slid into the fourth outfielder role for the remainder of the season. “One of the things that happened to Kyle Barrett was that Storm Wilson stepped right up and just said thank you,” UK head coach Gary Henderson said. “That happens in athletics and I don’t mean that in a mean way at all but he got his opportunity and made the most of it.”He made just six starts and playing in 14 of UK’s final 28 games, going 3-for-24 during the stretch. “Honestly if it wasn’t for (coach) Henderson sitting me down last year, I don’t know how I would’ve done,” Barrett said about his mindset before heading to the Cape Cod League for summer ball. “When we sat down it was a low point for me. I was really magnifying the negative aspects of my game and I got to sit back and watch. I was able to sit back and see what I bring to the table and the things I do well.”After the season, Barrett was shipped off to the Cape Cod League, considered the best amateur summer baseball in the nation. In the Cape, Barrett shined, earning the starting centerfield job in the all-star game. He finished with a .313 average – 17th-best in the circuit – and 10 steals, marking one of eight players in the league with an average over .300 and at least 10 steals. “When I went up to the Cape, no matter who was pitching or the type of arm, I knew what kind of player I was and I was going to go out there and have fun with it,” Barrett said. “No matter the outcome I was going to have fun. I did that and went up there and had fun and was able to perform with the best athletes in the country. It was just an awesome experience. I was able to play with a bunch of very athletic guys and good guys at that. I was just an awesome experience.”Now entering his junior season, high expectations are nothing new for the Douglasville, Ga., native. He is positioned to be a leader for a talented UK outfield that features speedsters Marcus Carson, Ka’ai Tom and Storm Wilson.”It is going to be real hard,” Barrett said about the schedule for the Wildcats in 2015. “Freshman year, we had a really tough schedule, similar to this year. Going to LSU is no joke, playing in front of 11,000 people. We have young guys but we also have a lot of older guys who are going to be able to step up. Dustin Beggs is a very talented pitcher that will be starting on the weekend for us. We’ll have to tell him that you can’t get caught up in the crowd. Evan White over at first base; these are all guys that are going to play and be very impactful for our program. They have to stay within themselves, not let the crowd bother them and stick to doing what they do.”A year after the Wildcats boasted the top offense among the major conferences, UK’s lineup will have a different feel in 2015. With the losses of physical sluggers Max Kuhn, Micheal Thomas and, of course, AJ Reed, and veteran hitting machine Austin Cousino, UK’s lineup will rely more on speed and athleticism than power. “Kyle Barrett is a really talented kid, he’s likeable, he cares and his athletic instincts are good,” Henderson said. “He plays hard what he has got to do in my opinion and just show up and be consistent in everything in his life every day. He has performed really well in January and our team needs him to be a very good player. He’s a guy that can really impact plays, he runs really well, he’s got a gene to hit there is no question about that but we got to get him back to where he was and we will. The biggest thing in my mind for Kyle Barrett is consistency in everything that he does.”The Wildcats lost 47 of their 60 homers from 2014, so proven power production is not a strength of UK entering 2015. Barrett’s consistent ability to get on base – he’s reached safely in 66 of his 76 career starts – will be a factor for the UK offense, as well as his defensive ability in covering large amounts of ground in the outfield. With Cousino’s departure, a question in the preseason will be who replaces the two-time Rawlings Gold Glove award winner in centerfield. “We have four guys (in the outfield) that are pretty legit defenders,” Barrett said. “It helps us because it makes us push each other. If one person pushes another person, then that makes the person next to them push even more. It makes everyone around them a better player. Makes everyone on edge and ready to go and if you aren’t ready to go then we have someone we can replace you with.”