Nick Mingione reveals his approach to Kentucky baseball’s bubble watch

Following a week of waiting after an early exit from the SEC Tournament, Kentucky heard its name called for the 2025 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Clemson Regional. The ‘Cats have now made three consecutive Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.

It however was a tumultuous final day of waiting for Nick Mingione’s team, as they had dropped completely out of both D1Baseball and Baseball America’s Field of 64 Projections. It however was revealed following the Selection Show that Kentucky was not even in the “Last Four In,” but was safely in the field as the 13th and final SEC team.

“You’d have to ask the players what it was like for them,” Mingione said on Tuesday. “We met [last] Tuesday morning before we headed back from Hoover and I literally just laid it out for the guys. I just said here’s the deal, we’re just gonna talk. This is what we do as a family when something’s on your brain and heart. I felt like I did a bad job after Tuesday’s game with them and my messaging to them. I just slept on it and prayed on it and we’re gonna meet Wednesday morning. And we just layed it all out for them, like here’s where we’re at at this point. At this point, we have put our season into other people’s hands to make a decision.”

Poor end to season put Tournament berth in jeopardy

Kentucky’s lone run in its 5-1 loss to Oklahoma in the First Round of the SEC Tournament was scored via an error, keeping the ‘Cats from being shut out for the first time this season. Their poor performance in Hoover coupled with the fact that it had just been swept at Vanderbilt the weekend prior made it questionable whether or not the program would hear its name called during the Selection Show.

“Typically when you don’t win a [conference] tournament, that’s what happens. With our league and being up to 16 teams, I don’t think anybody felt like they really knew who was gonna be in and who’s not and how all of this was going to work. But what I told them was I believed in what we accomplished during the regular season. We proved we can play with any team and every team and therefore if you can do that in the Southeastern Conference, you can beat the best teams and play with the best teams.”

In what was regarded as a rebuilding season for a Kentucky program that lost seven of its nine offensive starters, its entire starting rotation and multiple bullpen pieces, the ‘Cats accrued a 29-24 (13-17) record with series victories over Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma. With one win in the Clemson Regional, Kentucky would have four consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time since 2015-2018.

Kentucky sits at No. 38 in RPI Rankings

“But, we were gonna wait and see and I’m sure for them it was a bit of a rollercoaster, but my message to them was really clear the whole time. I still believe in this team and I believe that we’re gonna keep playing. But, we put it in other people’s hands. But I still believed in our track record and our resume. We played one of the toughest schedules in the entire country and we beat some of the best teams in the entire country.”

Heading into the Selection Show on Monday afternoon, Kentucky sat at No. 38 in the RPI Rankings with a 8-19 Q1 record, a 4-1 Q2 record, a 7-3 Q3 record and a 10-1 Q4 record. It’s sweep of Oklahoma in early May to get it to 13 conference wins was crucial, as it gave them the bump it needed to clinch a Tournament appearance.

Nick Mingione and the No. 3 seeded ‘Cats will open play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday at noon against No. 2 seed West Virginia in the Clemson Regional.