Mingione, Cats Set Foundation for Future of UK Baseball

In its first year under head coach Nick Mingione, the Kentucky baseball team did a number of things than had never been done before. And as Mingione builds the Kentucky program, he knows that this group of young men will be remembered as the foundation of what’s to come.

“I’m really proud of this team because, to do something that’s never been done before is hard,” Mingione said. “They’re going to be able to tell their kids, they’re going to be able to tell their families, they’re going to be able to tell their wives one day that they were part of something that’s never been done before.”

The magical season came to an end on Saturday, as Kentucky fell to Louisville 6-2 in the second game of the Super Regional. But this group of Wildcats didn’t go down without making some history along the way.

Kentucky’s 43 wins this season are the fourth-most in school history, and just two shy of the record of 45 wins, set by the 2006 SEC Champions. But this team was able to do something that even that team could not do – win an NCAA Baseball Regional.

Kentucky also spent the entire season in the race for the SEC regular season championship. In fact, the Wildcats visited Florida on the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to win the conference title for just the second time in school history. And while the Wildcats came up just short, being in the mix was an important step for the program.

The Wildcats also had one of the best offensive seasons in the history of the UK program. Kentucky led the SEC in virtually every offensive category, and had several players etch their names in the UK record books.

The players that made it all happen in 2017 hope that they have set a standard to which future UK players will strive to achieve.

“Definitely, it’s something we talked about,” junior first baseman Evan White said. “There has to be a team to do it. Throughout Kentucky baseball history, it hasn’t been done before. For us to be a part of that is truly special and we’ve had a remarkable year.”

Second baseman Riley Mahan concurs.

“We got over that hump, got into the Super Regional and that’s something that’s never been done before in Kentucky history,” Mahan said. “We had that feeling from day one that we were going to do things than had never been done at the University of Kentucky.”

But Mingione wants a season like the 2017 campaign to become the program standard rather than an exception.

“It’s important because, obviously, we’re in a place where we’ve never been,” Mingione said. “I told our guys that it’s good to get here, but moving forward, you’ve got to win here. That’s the next step for our baseball program.”

And while Mingione can’t help but look forward, he also won’t forget this group of players, who have touched him and his family.

“I just told them in the locker room, that they probably think that myself and our coaches changed their lives,” Mingione said. “But more importantly, I promise, they changed my wife’s and my son’s lives, the way they’ve touched our coaches.”

As for the future, Mahan sees big things ahead for the UK program.

“I can promise you guys this – the University of Kentucky baseball program is in really good hands,” Mahan said. “With the coaching staff and the athletic board, it’s in really good hands.”

And if the first year of the Nick Mingione Era is any indication, there are big things to come for the UK baseball program.