Part 1 (Storm Wilson) – Part 2 (JaVon Shelby) – Part 3 (Kyle Barrett) Growing up as a baseball lover in Arizona, and later in Omaha, Nebraska – the mecca of college baseball – Andrew Nelson dreamed of making it to the highest level of the game.  During his seven years in Arizona, Nelson basked in the pleasure of the year-round baseball circuit. When he moved to Omaha, his love for college baseball flourished in the acclaimed site of the College World Series. Nelson played catcher and infielder growing up. He served as Millard West High School’s primary backstop as an upperclassman. He also pitched in two games as a senior, eating up innings when the team had a fatigued pitching staff. Determined to ascend to the Division I level, Nelson went to Cuesta College (Calif.) and was unwavering in his mission to make the team, regardless of position. It was at Cuesta that Nelson began to zero in on the possibility of moving to the mound full-time as he searched for a path to major college baseball. “I tried out for everything there,” Nelson said. “Honed in as a pitcher because of a leg injury where I couldn’t slide, run, or steal bases for a couple weeks. Went to pitcher and never went back.” As a sophomore in 2013 at Cuesta that things began to click for Nelson. He was named the Western State Conference Pitcher of the Year and first-team all-conference.  There, Nelson caught the eye of the UK coaching staff, landing a spot on the 2014 UK roster. Nelson experienced a challenging fall in adjusting to a new level of competition for a right-hander who was just two years earlier was still learning to pitch. “It started in the fall,” Nelson remembered. “I was going from the junior college level to SEC caliber hitters and it was very different. You had to, obviously, hit your spots better and that was so different.”In his first NCAA outing, on Sunday of opening weekend vs. a scrappy Virginia Military Institute, Nelson worked 1.2 innings, allowing a run on three hits over 31 pitches. After working consecutive scoreless outings vs. Wright State and Eastern Kentucky, UK coach Gary Henderson turned to Nelson for his first career start in the nightcap of a twinbill vs. Cincinnati. Nelson allowed one earned run over four innings, and just four days later, filling in for an injured Kyle Cody as UK’s Sunday starter vs. Ball State. He fired 6.2 innings and allowed one run vs. the Cardinals, and with Cody on the shelf for 21 days, Nelson earned the Sunday starting nod. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, who works exclusively from the stretch on the bump, faced an entire new test the following week at Alabama in UK’s SEC opener. “It was a struggle for me up until a week before that start (at Alabama),” Nelson said. “Once I started getting those guys out (in non-conference starts), building confidence and figuring out how to pitch down in the zone, I kept building up confidence until that SEC start.”The Wildcats split the first two games of the series and turned to Nelson in the rubber match vs. the Crimson Tide. “I thought a lot about that start, because it’s SEC baseball,” Nelson said. “I went into it saying that I was going to be as confident and relaxed as possible and I was able to do that. I was able to throw strikes in the bottom of the zone. I was able to get through the first inning and was able to throw strikes where I want it just went from there. I felt good that day.”Nelson took a two-run lead into the ninth inning without allowing an earned run, forcing the Tide into a litany of ground balls, not issuing a walk and doing it all in under 90 pitches. A two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning ended his bid for a complete-game win in the rubber match and a Mikey White walk-off homer in the 10th inning lifted Alabama to the win. But the loss did not diminish the confidence Henderson – and his club – was quickly developing in Nelson. He went on to make eight of UK’s 10 SEC Sunday starts as the Wildcats brought Cody back to health with a fastball-only, relief role. In addition, UK’s staff was hurt by a three-week injury to fellow weekend starter Chandler Shepherd, forcing him to eat innings. A five-inning win over No. 12 Florida, without allowing an earned run, and strong starts vs. No. 1 South Carolina and at No. 5 Vanderbilt, secured Nelson’s role as a go-to weapon for Henderson. Nelson then slid into a relief role for the final two weekends of the regular season and into the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, shining for the UK bullpen. He had a heroic 2.1 innings in relief in a 12-inning marathon at Murray State, worked 4.2 shutout innings at Georgia, and worked two games in the SEC Tournament, picking up a save with four shutout innings vs. Alabama. He finished the year with a 2-5 record and a 3.94 ERA in 19 games and 10 starts, working 75.1 innings, allowing just 20 walks and striking out 37. As a senior, Nelson will have the ability to serve nearly any role on the UK pitching staff. With a funky right-handed delivery, Nelson could be used to get out righties, or could eat up innings as a weekend starter or middle reliever, and has proven to have the ability to finish a ball game with his ground-ball, aggressive approach. Nelson’s versatility will give Henderson a bevy of options with his pitching staff. “That’s what coach Henderson has talked about with me,” Nelson said. “He’s not really sure of my role yet, he’s going to put me out there and see the best role that I fit into for this team. It is basically whatever the team needs and wherever the innings need to be eaten up. Still not sure what I am going to do this year, but whatever it is, whether it is starting or bullpen, I’ll be happy and I’ll be ready.” Armed with a whole new mindset after experiencing the transition of his junior season, Nelson is poised for a strong senior season. “Going from a junior college to (UK) is a really big jump in the caliber of the hitters,” Nelson said. “Going through a whole year and knowing what to expect; going on all the traveling and everything that you do, even just dealing with school and baseball at the same time and just being through it all makes a huge difference. Knowing what to expect improves your confidence and you can start mentally planning ahead of time because you’ve been through it. You can go over those reps in your mind. You can visualize it and it is just easier to be prepared.”