Meet the Wildcats… An incredibly balanced team
Who’s the Pack playing?
Opponent: Kentucky
Mascot: Indiscriminate Feral Cat | School Location: Horseville, KY | Conference: SEC
2024 Record: 45-14 (22-8, T-1st East) | 2024 RPI Rank: 1
2023 Record: 40-21 (16-14, T-4th East) | 2023 RPI Rank: 4
2022 Record: 33-26 (12-18, 6th East) | 2022 RPI Rank: 47
When? Where? How do I watch?
Location: Charles Schwab Field (Omaha, NE)
Game Time: Sat, Jun 15 @ 2:00pm
TV: ESPN
Live Stats: NCAA
Tell me about this team
It took a while for Nick Mingione to get the Kentucky program going. He had success right out of the gate, taking a program that had stagnated under previous coach Gary Henderson and leading them to a Top 10 ranking, a Regional hosting bid, and a Super Regional appearance. After that, however, it was a major reset over the next five years before resurfacing among the cream of the college baseball world in 2023.
Last year, Mingione’s Wildcats started off the year on an absolute tear with a 27-3 overall mark and 9-1 SEC mark heading into a Sunday double-header at Georgia. The rest of the regular season went the other way with a 9-14 record (7-13 SEC) heading into an SEC Tournament appearance where they were bounced in their lone game. They still hosted a Regional, but were sent to the loser’s bracket by Indiana in the second game. To their credit, they bounced back to win the Regional and then were send to Baton Rouge where they fell in two games to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers.
That 2023 Super Regional appearance sprung some momentum back into the program and they have run with it this year, with Mingione earning SEC Coach-of-the-Year honors in the process. The Wildcats only lost three series all year – the one to Kennesaw State is the headscratcher there, with the other two being to Tennessee and at South Carolina. Kentucky took two-of-three on the road from fellow CWS participant Florida.
Since a 1-2 showing in the SEC tournament where they were bounced by South Carolina, the Wildcats have not lost a game in the NCAA Tournament. Their 3-2 win over Oregon State in the clincher of the Lexington Super Regional is really the only high-pressure game they’ve played as solid pitching and early leads have pushed aside any need for consternation among the blue clad faithful.
The lineup doesn’t have as many deep ball threats as what NC State just saw with Georgia, but it’s also constructed in a different way. Kentucky likes to put pressure on you with a small ball approach, doing so via stolen bases (118-of-149), sacrifice hits (42 sac bunts), and leaning into pitches (115 HBP) whenever possible. That approach works well with a lineup hitting .287/.404/.495 to produce a hair under 8.0 runs per game on the year. The speed spread throughout also allows the Wildcats to turn a lot of would-be singles into doubles.
No disrespect meant to an obviously productive lineup, but the pitching staff is the star of the show here. The trio of Trey Pooser, Mason Moore, and Dominic Niman have provided a steady and effective rotation all season long. None of the three are going to knock your socks off, but they generally keep the ball in the yard and limit big innings from opponents. That will go a long way this time of year.
A bullpen that runs six deep provides plenty of options behind the starters, including a pair of lefties and an elite-level closer in Johnny Hummel. Unlike the majority of the teams that NC State has seen this postseason, that relief corps doesn’t have the annoying – or rather good for opponents – issue of frequently being unable to find the plate.
Behind the pitching staff is a defense that is very solid, sporting a .980 fielding percentage on the year (NC State has a .976), so any hopes of defensive breakdowns to help aid big innings can likely be dismissed.
A formidable lineup, effective rotation, deep bullpen, and strong defense… Yeah, you can see how and why this team made it to Omaha.
(Probable) Pitching Matchup
Saturday: RHP Sam Highfill (SR) — RHP Trey Pooser (SR)
Key Players:
Offense
LF Ryan Waldschmidt (JR) – .346/.473/.634, 13.8 BB%, 16.5 K%, 24-31 SB. 2nd Team All-SEC selection. Former transfer from Charleston Southern where he was a Big South All-Freshman Team member in 2022 before heading to Kentucky ahead of the 2023 season. Played in the Cape Cod League last summer. Ranked by D1 Baseball as the 9th best 2024 MLB Draft prospect in the College World Series, a likely 2nd round pick.
DH Nick Lopez (SR) – .350/.407/.553, 8.9 BB%, 11.7 K%, 3-5 SB. 1st Team All-SEC. Well-traveled player who started his career at Illinois-Chicago in 2020, then went JUCO ball for a year at Santa Ana CC before spending two years at Southern Cal and eventually ending up in Lexington this year. Has been pretty much the same player with Kentucky that he was with USC, but with a much higher BABIP resulting in a big jump in batting average.
1B Ryan Nicholson (SR) – .299/.404/.675, 12.0 BB%, 23.2 K%, 3-3 SB. Grad transfer from Cincinnati. The Louisville native has 54 career HR. Was a teammate of Derrick Smith’s last summer on the Mankato MoonDogs of the Northwoods League.
2B Emilien Pitre (JR) – .298/.418/.509, 16.0 BB%, 12.4 K%, 25-34 SB. The Canadian earned SEC All-Defensive Team honors this year. Played in the Cape Cod League last summer where he proved himself very well while being teammates with Kalae Harrison and Cannon Peebles. Had just 1 career HR entering this year but has tapped into that power to hit 9 this year. Fast riser on draft boards with his play and high contact abilities.
Pitching
RHP Trey Pooser (SR) – 7-1, 2 SV, 3.46 ERA, 83.1 IP, 9.5 BB%, 22.7 K%. Grad transfer from College of Charleston where he started 35 games over his last three years. Has been incredible in the postseason against Illinois in the Regional round (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Oregon State in the Super Regional (7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 8 K). Has a mid-90’s fastball with a high-spin slider as his best off-speed offering.
RHP Johnny Hummel (SR) – 3-0, 7 SV, 3.49 ERA, 28.1 IP, 8.9 BB%, 33.9 K%. Grad transfer from D2 Erskine College in Due West, SC, where he totaled 18 saves and a 2.00 ERA over 90.0 IP. Low-90’s fastball with both a hard slider and a softer curve to provide a pair of out pitches.
LHP Jackson Nove (JR) – 1-0, 2 SV, 5.46 ERA, 29.2 IP, 14.3 BB%, 29.3 K%. The big 6’5 southpaw from Iowa hasn’t allowed a run in two postseason appearances (2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K). Low 90’s fastball and low 80’s slider is his preferred secondary pitch. Prefers to pitch backwards against the higher order hitters.
RHP Cameron O’Brien (SR) – 3-0, 3.94 ERA, 32.0 IP, 9.1 BB%, 32.6 K%. Grad transfer from Campbell who has been lights out in the postseason (6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K). Another big 6’5 pitcher, but from the right side. Has a low-90’s fastball out of a somewhat short-arm delivery. Mid-80’s slider, a high-80’s cut fastball, and curve round out the repertoire.
Quick! Fun Facts!
Kentucky has two players from right in NC State’s backyard. SR RHP Cameron O’Brien is a grad transfer from Campbell who attended Heritage High School in Wake Forest. Redshirt-FR OF Lukas Schramm was born in Raleigh, raised in Apex, and went to Pro5 Academy, the same institution as current Wolfpack players Eli Serrano and Dominic Fritton.
The Wildcats are producing an average of 6.8 runs/game in NCAA Tournament games (NC State is averaging 8.0) while allowing just 2.2 runs/game (NC State is allowing 4.3 runs/game).
This is the first ever trip to the College World Series for the Kentucky program. This year marked just their third Super Regional appearance – all three have come under Mingione.
Kentucky has six alums who have appeared at the MLB level this year: RHP Sean Hjelle (Giants), LHP Zack Thompson (Cardinals), RHP Zach Pop (Blue Jays), LHP Taylor Rogers (Giants), C Luke Maile (Reds), LHP James Paxton (Dodgers).
Four of the last five Kentucky alums to make their MLB debut have been named Zack/Zach, with Zach Logue and Zach Reks joining the aforementioned Zack Thompson and Zach Pop.
The Key To A Win For State
There isn’t an obvious weakness in this Kentucky team, so the approach for State should be the same as it had at Georgia: be aggressive at the dish and jump on pitches early in the count. Depending on conditions, the park in Omaha can play big, so getting on top of the ball will generally produce better results.
Prediction
Based on how Pooser has pitched lately and with the bigger dimensions of the CWS park, I don’t foresee the Pack having the success they did in Athens. Still, I’m not betting against this State team.
Outcome: 4-3 State win.