Baseball Wildcats Disappointed, Ready for New Beginnings
The Kentucky baseball team did not get the news they were hoping for on Monday afternoon. As the 64 teams participating in the 2018 NCAA Baseball Tournament were announced, the Wildcats did not hear their names called, despite a Top 30 RPI ranking and 16 wins over the nation’s Top 50 teams.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” UK head coach Nick Mingione said on Tuesday. “I’m really proud of this team. We won 34 games this year, that’s a lot of wins. Our RPI was number 30 and in our league, that’s pretty good.”
Ultimately, the committee left Kentucky out of the field and left the team, and the coaching staff, with an empty feeling.
“I’m sad, I’m disappointed and really, more importantly, I’m hurting,” Mingione said. “These are some awesome guys that I don’t get to coach anymore and ultimately, it’s my fault, and that hurts. Man, I feel bad for those guys.”
The news was disappointing to a team that was hoping to build upon last year’s regional title and first-ever appearance in the Super Regionals. And while being left out of the 2018 field is a tough pill to swallow for this year’s team, the change in the program’s mindset in the last two years is remarkable. As a program, Kentucky has made a total of nine appearances, ever, in the NCAA Tournament, which began in 1947. That means the Wildcats make the field about every eight years.
However, when Kentucky hired Mingione as its head coach, the new skipper immediately set new goals for the program. Mingione wanted to talk about not only making the NCAA Tournament field, but making the school’s first appearance at the College World Series in Omaha. Mingione’s first Kentucky team came within two games of reaching Omaha, coming up just short in the Super Regional at Louisville.
The 2018 Wildcats had lofty expectations, with a number of returning starters and a preseason Top 10 ranking. Kentucky posted an impressive 34-22 record, including series wins over powerhouses Texas Tech, Georgia and Auburn. The Wildcats also won on the road at Indiana, a Top 25 team, as well as beating Top 50 opponent Houston in a neutral-site game. Kentucky struggled with injuries down the stretch, including missed starts from key pitchers Zack Thompson and Justin Lewis, as well as a season-ending injury to power-hitting designated hitter T.J. Collett.
Mingione handled the team’s omission with his typical class, placing the blame upon himself rather than on the NCAA Tournament committee.
“The committee, they have a tough job and I think they’ve done, in their eyes, the best they can possibly do,” Mingione said. “The committee is in good hands with (committee chair) Ray (Tanner). They don’t deserve any bad or negative feedback they are getting because their job is hard.”
In the end, being left out of the NCAA Tournament is a huge disappointment for this program. But it was just two years ago that, despite a 32-25 record, Kentucky was not close to making the field. For this program to come so far, to the point of expecting to be in the tournament every year, in such a short time is a credit to Mingione and his staff.
Now, the Wildcats look to the future, where they will be without key players like seniors Luke Becker, Luke Heyer and Troy Squires. The Major League Baseball Draft will likely take some additional Wildcats, although it remains to be seen which underclassmen might return.
The 2019 season offers new promise, as well as the opening of a new $49 million baseball stadium. The state-of-the-art facility will replace Kentucky’s home of the past 50 years, Cliff Hagan Stadium, which saw its last game in mid-May. As for the new stadium, modern amenities abound including wide concourses, club seating and a turf playing surface.
“It’s going to be really neat,” Mingione said of the new facility. “It’s amazing how far (the stadium) has come. When you start thinking about the lockers are in the locker room right now, it’s an exciting time. With each passing day, it becomes more of a reality for me. It’s going to be unbelievable.”
As the Wildcats deal with the disappointment of not making this year’s tournament, they can also be excited about what’s to come in the very near future for this program.
