Meet the Wildcats: These Kentucky baseball players could be key in College World Series

The cast of characters essential to Kentucky baseball’s first College World Series appearance is not small.

There’s the fiery catcher, the likely first-round draft pick, the ace who started the year in the bullpen and the former top-recruit turned dugout captain to name just a few. But the list does not stop there.

“Our players, they’re unbelievable,” UK coach Nick Mingione said after Kentucky’s super regional-clinching win over Oregon State. “They have true grit, true toughness, unbelievable belief – real belief in one another and each other.

“And their true love for one another really showed. It really showed -- not only this weekend but really all season long. Just truly amazing.”

As the Wildcats prepare for their Omaha debut, here is a closer look at the players you need to know.

THE LINEUP

Mingione has used the same lineup in each of Kentucky’s five NCAA Tournament games entering the College World Series. The only position player to appear in one of those games off the bench was Western Kentucky transfer Ty Crittenberger, who came on as a defensive replacement late in the super regional-clenching game after center fielder Nolan McCarthy tweaked his hamstring while scoring the game-winning run.

LF Ryan Waldschmidt

The best MLB draft prospect on the roster, Waldschmidt was named a third-team All-American by Perfect Game this week. He enters the super regional batting .346 with 14 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Waldschmidt’s breakout came despite him being limited early in the season while he worked his way back from a torn ACL suffered last summer. MLB.com ranks Waldschmidt, who transferred to UK from Charleston Southern before the 2023 season, as the No. 39 prospect in the 2024 MLB draft.

2B Émilien Pitre

Mingione says Pitre is “as good a player as I’ve ever coached.” Pitre grew up in Quebec with little knowledge of American college baseball. He attended a French-speaking high school and totaled just four at-bats as a freshman while gaining much-needed weight. Now, he has a chance to hit over .300 in back-to-back seasons, entering the College World Series at .298 with nine home runs and a team-high 25 stolen bases. Originally a shortstop, Pitre is a stellar defender at second base. MLB.com ranks him as a top-200 prospect for the 2024 draft.

C Devin Burkes

Burkes was the star of Kentucky’s SEC Tournament run in 2022 and NCAA Tournament regional win in 2023. His offensive numbers have dipped this season but he remains a key presence in the lineup and behind the plate. Burkes’ energy is immediately evident when watching Kentucky, and pitchers credit him for their postseason success so far. Mingione points to the decision to play Burkes more down the stretch in 2022 as one of the key factors that led to Kentucky’s program turnaround.

DH Nick Lopez

The man with the best mustache in college baseball, Lopez transferred from Southern Cal to UK after starting his career at Santa Ana Community College. After batting only left-handed at the direction of his USC coaches last season, Lopez returned to switch hitting after transferring to UK. That move paid off with a team-best .350 batting average, six home runs and 50 RBIs. Lopez said he grew his handlebar mustache, which he dyed blue during the regional, to garner attention. Instead, his play has done that with a second-team All-American selection from NCBWA.

3B Mitchell Daly

While Kentucky will be playing in its first College World Series, Daly will actually be playing in his third. Daly began his career at Texas, where he reached the College World Series as a freshman and sophomore. Known as a strong defender who primarily played shortstop and second base at Texas, Daly won UK’s third base competition early in the season. His defense has remained strong, as evidenced by his diving play in the super regional clincher, but he also hit .302 with six home runs and 10 stolen bases. Daly is the son of a four-star Army general.

1B Ryan Nicholson

A St. Xavier High School graduate, Nicholson started his college career at Cincinnati before transferring to UK as a graduate student. Despite moving to a more difficult conference, Nicholson posted the best statistics of his career at UK this spring, hitting .299 with 21 home runs, 61 RBIs and 44 runs scored. The 21 home runs are tied for fourth most in a single season in UK history. Nicholson started the season slowly, but was the MVP of UK’s regional and hit another home run in the super regional. “When Ryan started hitting the ball over the fence, it changed our lineup,” Mingione said.

CF Nolan McCarthy

McCarthy earned himself a spot in UK history by scoring the game-winning run in the super regional clincher from second base on a wild pitch, but his UK teammates were not surprised by the aggressiveness. “He’s like always being crazy,” Burkes said. Like Burkes, McCarthy redshirted as a freshman in 2021. He totaled just 33 at-bats in 2022 but has hit .287 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases the last two seasons. The Kalamazoo, Michigan native was also an all-district ice hockey player in high school.

RF James McCoy

A redshirt sophomore, McCoy has hit just .228 across the last two seasons, but his offense has improved in NCAA Tournament play. The Port St. Joe, Florida native snapped an 0-for-21 streak with a 2-for-3 performance in the regional opener. In five NCAA Tournament games, McCoy is 5 for 14 (.357) with one home run, three RBIs and five runs scored. McCoy hit .267 with one home run in the prestigious Cape Cod League last summer.

SS Grant Smith

Since transferring to UK from Incarnate Word prior to the 2023 season, Smith has proven himself to be one of the best defenders in college baseball. He was a finalist for a gold glove award last season and made one of the plays of the year on a diving grab of a pop-up to shallow left field in a key moment in the regional. Smith is hitting .248 on the season but has scored five runs already in the NCAA Tournament out of the nine spot in UK’s lineup.

THE ROTATION

Kentucky’s dynamic offense gets most of the credit for the historic season, but the postseason run has been fueled by stellar pitching. For the Wildcats to advance through the double-elimination bracket in Omaha, they will likely need their top two starters to continue to go deep into games.

RHP Trey Pooser

A graduate transfer from College of Charleston, Pooser opened the season pitching out of the bullpen in a piggyback role with Friday starter Travis Smith. After an injury and poor performance moved Smith out of the rotation, Pooser took the Friday spot and has not looked back. He enters the world series at 7-1 with a 3.46 ERA, 79 strikeouts and 33 walks in 83 1/3 innings pitched. Pooser has surrendered just one run in 14 NCAA Tournament innings so far.

RHP Mason Moore

The Rowan County High School graduate saw his streak of 23 2/3 scoreless NCAA Tournament innings snapped in the super regional against Oregon State when his control faltered, but he still did not give up a hit in that start. While Moore has not been quite as effective as a starter this year as he was out of the bullpen in 2023, his 4.93 ERA is inflated by two awful starts against South Carolina. He is 9-3 on the season thanks in large part to a power sinker that helps him work out of jams.

LHP Dominic Niman

For much of the season the graduate transfer from Central Connecticut State looked like Kentucky’s best pitcher, but he struggled mightily down the stretch. In his last seven appearances, Niman has a 14.77 ERA. Niman did start UK’s NCAA Tournament opener and looked strong through four innings against Western Michigan before surrendering five runs without recording and out in the fifth inning. He didn’t pitch in the regional and has only pitched 4 1/3 innings the last three weeks. Mingione will hope that rest helps Niman be effective for the right matchup in the double-elimination portion of the world series bracket.

THE BULLPEN

UK’s pitching depth was its biggest question entering postseason play, but those concerns have been eased with multiple relievers posting some of their best performances of the season over the last two weeks. Still, staying out of the loser’s bracket portion of the double-elimination pod could be important in ensuring Mingione can stick with the relievers he trusts most. Do not be surprised if a game gets out of hand if Kentucky turns to a little-used pitcher not on this list to cover innings and save the top relievers for a game the Wildcats can win.

RHP Robert Hogan

Hogan could face his former team, Texas A&M, as early as game two of the College World Series, offering a chance to prove how far he has come in his first season as a Wildcat. After throwing just eight innings as a sophomore at Texas A&M last season, Hogan has blossomed into UK’s best reliever. Mingione uses him in multi-inning stints. Opponents have yet to score on him in 8 2/3 innings postseason innings between the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Hogan has 12 strikeouts and six walks in that time frame.

RHP Cameron O’Brien

The biggest development for UK in the NCAA Tournament might be the performance of O’Brien, who Mingione has handed the ball to with the bases loaded and less than two outs twice already in the NCAA Tournament. O’Brien has allowed just two of seven inherited runners to score. He struck out back-to-back batters with the bases loaded in the super regional clincher. The Campbell graduate transfer has 12 strikeouts and one walk in 6 1/3 NCAA Tournament innings.

RHP Ryan Hagenow

Injuries have prevented Hagenow from developing into the ace many expected when he signed with UK as the second-highest-ranked high school recruit in program history, but he has been essential the last two seasons as Kentucky’s dugout captain. Hagenow has been effective when used on the mound this season too with a team-best 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings. Mingione will certainly need him for a multiple innings at some point in Omaha.

RHP Johnny Hummel

Hummel quickly became a fan favorite as a graduate transfer from Division II Erskine College this season thanks to his intro video produced to resemble the Pixar movie “Cars.” He leads Kentucky with seven saves but appeared to tire down the stretch of the regular season. After not pitching in the regional, Hummel came into the game with men on first and third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth of game two of the super regional. He responded with a three-pitch strikeout to send UK to Omaha.

RHP Travis Smith

A top-200 draft prospect according to MLB.com, Smith is something of a wild card for Kentucky entering the world series. He opened the season as the Wildcats’ Friday night starter but pitched just one inning in the final four regular season series as he battled an injury. Smith returned to the mound to throw one inning in the SEC Tournament. He has yet to pitch in the NCAA Tournament but has warmed up in the bullpen multiple times. It would be a risk to turn to a rusty pitcher with a 6.38 ERA in a key moment, but Smith has the best stuff on the roster.

LHP Jackson Nove

Another reliever who appears to be peaking at the right time after an inconsistent season, Nove struck out four batters in two hitless innings against Oregon State. He would have pitched a clean inning in the regional clincher against Indiana State too if not for a fielding error. On the season, Nove has a 5.46 ERA, 41 strikeouts and 20 walks in 29 2/3 innings. Expect Mingione to turn to him against the most dangerous stretch of left-handed hitters Kentucky faces.

LHP Evan Byers

A Lexington Christian Academy graduate and son of two UK alumni, Byers has been on campus for most of Mingione’s rebuilding job since the 2020-pandemic-shortened season. Byers has not been as effective in 2024 (3-1, 5.32) as he was in 2023 (1-0, 1.65), but he will likely be needed as a matchup lefty in the world series. Byers surrendered three runs in 2/3 of an inning against Western Michigan in his only NCAA Tournament appearance this season.

LHP Ben Cleaver

The only freshman on this list, Cleaver was originally expected to serve as Kentucky’s midweek starter but missed most of the season with an injury. Cleaver has not pitched in the NCAA Tournament but made two key appearances down the stretch of SEC play, recording the final out at Florida on May 12 and two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against South Carolina on May 24. If Kentucky falls into the loser’s bracket, Cleaver’s chances of pitching in Omaha increase as the pitching depth will be tested.

THE BENCH

After experimenting with different lineup combinations early in the season, Mingione has stuck with the same nine hitters in each of the NCAA Tournament games. Kentucky could play as many as eight NCAA Tournament College World Series games though, so it would not be a shock if someone on the bench is needed in a key moment. Among UK’s reserves, these three hitters have appeared in at least 20 games this season.

INF/OF Patrick Herrera

Herrera earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore at Northwestern in 2022, but he has just 63 at-bats in two seasons at Kentucky. When used this season, Herrera has been effective, hitting .309 with 16 RBIs, 15 runs scored and 15 walks. Herrera’s last start came on May 12 at Florida when he went 2 for 3 with a double and four RBIs in a 7-5 extra-innings win. When Hagenow goes to the bullpen, Herrera frequently is handed control of the dugout.

INF Reuben Church

The senior from Maryville, Tennessee has appeared in 112 games across four seasons at Kentucky. Church has played third base, first base and designated hitter for Kentucky this season but has not had an at-bat since May 10 at Florida. He is just 6 for 33 (.182) on the season but does have postseason experience after playing in six NCAA Tournament games last season.

OF Ty Crittenberger

If McCarthy’s hamstring injury lingers into this week, Crittenberger might be needed to man center field again. He has just 25 at-bats this season but started 56 of 57 games at Western Kentucky a year ago. He hit .314 last season. Even if McCarthy can play, Crittenberger might be needed as a pinch runner, a role he has filled eight times in 2024. Crittenberger has stolen seven bases in limited action.

College World Series

Friday through June 24 at Omaha, Nebraska.

FRIDAY:

Game 1: North Carolina vs. Virginia, 2 p.m. (ESPN).

Game 2: Tennessee vs. Florida State, 7 p.m. (ESPN).

SATURDAY:

Game 3: Kentucky vs. N.C. State, 2 p.m. (ESPN).

Game 4: Texas A&M vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN).

SUNDAY:

Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m. (ESPN).

Game 6: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN).

MONDAY:

Game 7: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. (ESPN).

Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN).

Notes: Nick Mingione earns another award; Author salutes Kentucky baseball team

How Devin Burkes worked his way from redshirt to one of UK baseball’s most important players

What to know about N.C. State and Kentucky’s other College World Series bracket opponents

Stellar pitching, defense give Kentucky baseball a strong shot to win College World Series

Who is in UK’s College World Series bracket? What you need to know about Omaha format.