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| Kentucky Wildcats | |
|---|---|
 2025 Kentucky Wildcats baseball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1896 (129 years ago) |
| University | University of Kentucky |
| Athletic director | Mitch Barnhart |
| Head coach | Nick Mingione (8th season) |
| Conference | SEC |
| Location | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Home stadium | Kentucky Proud Park (from 2019) (Capacity: 7250) |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
| Colors | Blue and white[1] |
| College World Series appearances | |
| 2024 | |
| NCAA regional champions | |
| 2017, 2023, 2024 | |
| NCAA tournament appearances | |
| 1988, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2023, 2024, 2025 | |
| Conference regular season champions | |
| 2006, 2024 | |
TheKentucky Wildcats baseball team represents theUniversity of Kentucky inNCAA Division Icollege baseball and competes in theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach of the Wildcats isNick Mingione.
The baseball program, partly hampered by being the northernmost school in the heavily warm-weather SEC (untilMissouri's arrival in 2013), has historically achieved only modest success at best. Under longtime coachKeith Madison (1979–2003), the Wildcats had some good teams. However, due to playing in the same league as national powersFlorida,LSU (which won five national championships underSkip Bertman from 1991 through 2000),Mississippi State, andSouth Carolina, regular-season success was rarely rewarded with a postseason berth. In 28 years, Madison was only able to lead the Wildcats to two NCAA tournaments, in 1988 and 1993. The Wildcats won their first three regional games in 1988 to move to within one win of theCWS, but lost twice in the championship round to1987 national championStanford, which went on to successfully defend its title.
Wildcats baseball hit bottom at the turn of the 21st century, with only one winning season from 1997 through 2004, and five straight last-place finishes in the SEC East from 2001 through 2005. In 2003, after Madison's retirement, Kentucky hired Florida assistantJohn Cohen as head coach. Cohen was able to lead the Cats to a winning overall season in 2005, despite another SEC cellar finish.
Few could have expected theCinderella season the Cats would have in 2006. They went from worst to first in the SEC, winning a regular-season conference title for the first time in three decades, and being ranked as high as fourth in the country by one major baseball poll during the season. However, the newly energized Kentucky baseball faithful saw the Cats crash out of the SEC tournament early and fail to make it out of the regionals of the NCAA tournamentat home.
There were high hopes for the 2007 team and for the most part they delivered. They started the season 19–0 before falling toArkansas. They then fell into a tailspin but rebounded at the end of the year to just miss the SEC playoffs after aTennessee Volunteers win. They finished with a 37–19 record.Jason Kipnis, who was an outfielder for that team, is now a second baseman for theCleveland Indians.
In 2008, Kentucky started off strong posting a 19–0 record and being ranked as high as #4 in the nation. The Wildcats rolled into conference play and began to struggle after being swept by eventualCollege World Series runner-upGeorgia andCollege World Series participant LSU. The Wildcats finished the season strong and made it into the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats would end up losing toArizona in the regional final inAnn Arbor, Michigan. The Wildcats finished the season with a 44–19 record, the most wins in school history. They finished 25th in the final ESPN/USA Today poll.
The Wildcats slumped back to the SEC's second division in 2009, though they finished two games over .500 overall. Cohen left for Mississippi State after the season, and pitching coachGary Henderson was named his successor.
In 2012, Kentucky garnered its most successful season in program history up until that time. Henderson was voted SEC Coach of the Year by the league coaches. Henderson directed the Wildcats to a school-record 45-win season, with UK completing its best finishes in the SEC and NCAA tournaments in school annals. The 2012 season also marked the first time that UK had ever been ranked No. 1. UK finished the season with a No. 11 ranking by Baseball America. UK also achieved a program record by winning seven of ten series in SEC play. UK also ran up a school-record 22-game winning streak, which is the second longest in SEC history.
At the end of the 2016 season, Henderson resigned, and the university replaced him withNick Mingione, who had previously been an assistant coach at UK andMississippi State under Cohen. In his first season, he led led the Wildcats to ahome regional championship. He repeated this in2023 before losing to eventual national championLSU in the super regional.
In2024, Kentucky had a school-best ever year, starting the season at 32–5 and 15–1 in the SEC. They finished the regular season 39–12 and 22–8 in the SEC. The Wildcats hosted the regional and super regional where they went undefeated. They were one of eight teams that went to the2024 College World Series, where they lost out in the double elimination round with CWS record of 1–2.
The Wildcats played their home games on campus atCliff Hagan Stadium from 1969 through2018. On October 21, 2016, Kentucky announced plans to build a new stadium, with fixed seating for 2,400, additional grass berm seating for a permanent capacity of 4,000, and the capability to add temporary seating to raise capacity to as much as 7,000. The new stadium,Kentucky Proud Park, opened on February 26, 2019, with a 7–3 win overEastern Kentucky in front of 4,074 fans.[2]
Dick Howser Trophy[3]
| Dick Howser Trophy | ||||
| Player | Position | year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Reed | Utility Player | 2014 | ||
Golden Spikes Award[4]
| Golden Spikes Award winners | ||||
| Player | Position | year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Reed | Utility Player | 2014 | ||
The following is a list ofKentucky's All-Americans:
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| Year-by-Year Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Record | Pct. | Notes | ||
| 1988 | 3-2 | .600 | Northeast Regional | ||
| 1993 | 0-2 | .000 | Central II Regional | ||
| 2006 | 2-2 | .500 | Lexington Regional | ||
| 2008 | 2-2 | .500 | Ann Arbor Regional | ||
| 2012 | 2-2 | .500 | Gary Regional | ||
| 2014 | 2-2 | .500 | Louisville Regional | ||
| 2017 | 3-3 | .500 | Louisville Super Regional | ||
| 2023 | 4–3 | .571 | Baton Rouge Super Regional | ||
| 2024 | 6–2 | .750 | College World Series | ||
| 2025 | 2–2 | .500 | Clemson Regional | ||
Several Wildcats players have gone on to play inMajor League Baseball.
| Position | Name | Bats | Throws | Hometown | Draft Year | Round | MLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | Collin Cowgill | R | L | Lexington, KY | 2008 | 5th | Los Angeles Angels |
| RP | Scott Downs | L | L | Louisville, KY | 1997 | 3rd | Chicago White Sox |
| SP | James Paxton | L | L | Richmond, BC | 2010 | 4th | Seattle Mariners |
| RP | Chris Rusin | L | L | Detroit, MI | 2009 | 4th | Colorado Rockies |
| RP | Trevor Gott | R | R | Lexington, KY | 2013 | 4th | Washington Nationals |
| SP | Alex Meyer | R | R | Greensburg, IN | 2011 | 1st | Minnesota Twins |
| RP | Taylor Rogers | L | L | Littleton, CO | 2012 | 11th | Minnesota Twins |
| 1B | A. J. Reed | L | L | Terre Haute, IN | 2014 | 2nd | Houston Astros |
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