Tyler Bell, Ben Cleaver Earn Preseason All-SEC Honors
Tyler Bell was named First Team Preseason All-Southeastern Conference and Ben Cleaver voted a member of the Second Team by the league coaches, it was announced Thursday.
Kentucky was picked to finish 11th out of the conference’s 16 teams.
Bell, in 2025, etched his name all over UK’s freshman records list and has got stronger as the season has progressed. He reached base safely in 54 of 56 career games (he started every game but one last season, which he missed with an injury), including each of the first 27. He had 17 multi-hit games, led the team in RBI and had a team-best 29 extra base hits. He also was the first UK freshman since at least 2005 to have two four-hit games.
His 10 home runs last season tied the freshman school record set by Chris Gonzalez in 1993. He also ranked among the top five in RBI, runs, extra base hits, stolen bases and slugging percentage.
He had just six errors in 214 chances, a .972 fielding percentage. He was the only Wildcat to bat over .300 in conference play at .318 and led the team in doubles, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage in those games.
Bell followed his rookie campaign by playing for the US Collegiate National Team over the summer and is considered a Top 15 prospect for the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.
Cleaver, a junior from Thompsons Station, Tennessee, had a breakout campaign in 2025 and started the Wildcats’ opening game in the NCAA Clemson Regional. He finished the season 6-3 with a 3.25 earned run average in 83.0 innings over 15 starts. He allowed just 54 hits and struck out 92 while allowing just 10 extra base hits and holding opponents to a .185 batting average. He had a team-best seven quality starts (6+ IP, 3 or fewer earned runs).
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UK opens its season on Friday, February 13 at UNC Greensboro.
The Cats are entering their 10th season under head coach Nick Mingione and have won 293 games during his tenure, including a College World Series appearance in 2024. The program signed top 10 transfer portal and top 25 high school recruiting classes in the offseason. UK also has earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
