SEC Network to Air Nine Kentucky Baseball Games in 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky baseball team will appear on national television at least nine times in 2017, including five Southeastern Conference games, the league announced Wednesday.

The Wildcats’ are slated to appear on the SEC Network for league tilts at Texas A&M (Mar. 17), vs. Ole Miss (Mar. 23 and 25) and at Missouri (Apr. 15 and 16). The network also will air non-conference home games against Murray State (Mar. 14), Louisville (Apr. 18), Xavier (Apr. 26) and Indiana (May 9).

The league’s schedule also includes five television wildcard selections late in the season, allowing the SEC Network the opportunity to determine the best television matchup at a later date. The schedule closes out with SEC Network airing the entirety of the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala. May 23-27, outside of the Championship game on ESPN2 on May 28.

Opening night of conference play, Fri., Mar. 17, the SEC Network will renew its Bases Loaded coverage, featuring every SEC team in a live, NFL RedZone channel-style compilation of seven games, including the Cats’ game at Texas A&M. Every Bases Loaded game also is available in its entirety, streaming live via SEC Network +. Additional games available exclusively for streaming on SEC Network + via WatchESPN and the ESPN app will be announced at a later time. 

The entire SEC television schedule can be found at SECsports.com.

Kentucky, under first-year head coach Nick Mingione, opens its 2017 season on the road against traditional power North Carolina as part of a challenging schedule that features 26 games against nine opponents who made last season’s NCAA Tournament field, once again making the Wildcats’ schedule one of the nation’s toughest. Fifteen of the Wildcats’ first 18 SEC games and 21 of 30 overall in league play are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2016. 

UK returns eight positional starters, including first baseman/outfielder Evan White, a 2016 Second Team All-SEC and All-Defensive Team selection who spent the summer with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team, three critical bullpen pieces and a pair of midweek starters from a club that finished 32-25 with a 15-15 conference record in 2016.