Leadership Key to Baseball's Rise
The 2017 Kentucky baseball team had a historic season, winning an NCAA Baseball Regional for the first time while compiling a 43-23 record. The Wildcats had six players drafted in the first 10 rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft in June, which would seem to indicate that experience and leadership might be an issue for the upcoming season.
That assumption would be wildly incorrect. The returning players, as well as some newcomers, have taken the energy from last season and carried it over as the upcoming season approaches. And as fall practice concludes this weekend with the annual Fall World Series, the players know that having leadership and the right attitude is very important.
“I think going into this Fall World Series we are taking that winning mentality and playing for bragging rights this time,” said junior catch Troy Squires. “Last year, we did well, and it is to be expected now. It is not going to be a one-year thing. It’s not going to be like that. It’s going to be expected from here on out and I think everybody in that locker room thinks that and believes that. So, success is here to stay.”
Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione wants to see improvement from his team every day, and that starts with consistency
“In order, in my eyes, to truly become elite, you have to do it year after year after year after year,” Mingione said. “So, just the mentality with our players, for them to understand every day is a new day and I cannot give any days away and I have to continue to get better and I have to continue to improve, whether that be in the classroom, in the community, or on the field. For them to truly understand what it takes to be elite and that means not giving any days away and never losing sight of how do I get better every single day?”
Team leadership figures to be a cornerstone in the program reaching that elite level. Mingione knows that starts with pitching and defense.
“From the pitching side, Sean Hjelle, Justin Lewis and Zack Thompson have just done an awesome job helping lead our pitching staff,” Mingione said. “For us to be elite and for us to continue to grow, obviously leadership is really important. As a matter of fact one of my favorite quotes is, ‘Everything rises and falls on leadership.’ Those guys I mentioned have just done an awesome job of leading our team thus far.”
Pitchers rely heavily on their catchers, and that’s another area where Mingione thinks this Kentucky team is very solid.
“Starting with every championship team, every team has at least one good catcher,” Mingione said. “Our catching core, between Kole Cottom, Troy Squires and Marshall Gei, the leadership those guys have provided has been awesome.”
The Wildcats’ leadership will be on display this weekend as the Cats host the Fall World Series at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Game One will be Friday at 3:15 p.m., followed by 11:30 a.m. games on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free and the games are open to the public.
The experienced Wildcats seem to be embracing their leadership roles. And that’s another significant step in the Kentucky baseball program becoming one of the nation’s elite.
