After program’s first College World Series, Kentucky baseball faces major roster turnover

Kentucky baseball’s historic season may have ended with a whimper in a 15-4 loss to Florida in Omaha, but by reaching the College World Series for the first time in program history these Wildcats still offered hope for even more success moving forward.

But for Nick Mingione and company to follow the 2024 success with another deep postseason run next season, the Wildcats have to account for expected heavy turnover on the roster.

Four of Kentucky’s nine regular starting hitters (first baseman Ryan Nicholson, third baseman Mitchell Daly, shortstop Grant Smith and designated hitter Nick Lopez) have exhausted their eligibility. Right fielder Ryan Waldschmidt and second baseman Émilien Pitre are ranked among the top 200 2024 MLB draft prospects by MLB.com and have to be considered locks to begin their professional careers.

Weekend starters Trey Pooser and Dominic Niman are out of eligibility, as are key relievers Cameron O’Brien, Johnny Hummel and Ryan Hagenow. Right-handed pitcher Travis Smith, who opened the season as the Wildcats’ Friday starter but was limited by an injury in the second half, is also ranked as a top-200 draft prospect.

The draft could lead to the exit of several more key Wildcats with eligibility remaining.

Despite Devin Burkes’ middling success at the plate this season, Mingione has spoken of Burkes’ departure for the draft as a foregone conclusion during UK’s NCAA Tournament run. Center fielder Nolan McCarthy, Sunday starter Mason Moore and relief ace Robert Hogan could all have draft decisions to make as well. All players are automatically eligible for the 20-round draft after three college seasons and can return to school after being selected if they do not sign a contract.

Mingione has repeatedly noted the importance of a returning nucleus from UK’s 2023 super regional team as being key in the 2024 success, so getting at least a few of the draft-eligible starters to return could be important for next season.

Otherwise, the Wildcats will need to count on a group of new transfers and underclassmen who played little this season to carry the load.

“With a group that doesn’t buy in it’s not going to work, you’re not going to get into Omaha,” McCarthy said after the loss to Florida. “With a group that buys in and listens to Coach Ming, the guidance he gives us, they’ll be just fine. The guys will be fine.

“Coach (Austin Cousino) is one of the best recruiters out there. He’s going to get the talent. If everyone buys in, the sky is the limit for this program. You saw it. We could have won it all.”

Mingione has made excellent use of the transfer portal in recent years and will need to do so again in 2025.

Columbia first baseman Cole Hage, Canisius outfielder Jackson Strong, Transylvania outfielder Trent Youngblood, Radford right-handed pitcher Scott Rouse, Eastern Kentucky right-handed pitcher Chase Alderman, South Dakota State right-handed pitcher Nic McCay, Cal State Bakersfield right-handed pitcher Ryan Verdugo, Longwood left-handed pitcher Ethan Walker and Richmond left-handed pitcher Cole Hentschel have already committed to the Wildcats’ portal class, according to Bat Cats Central.

Most of that group have put up stellar statistics at smaller schools. Mingione’s track record is good with small school transfers, but Kentucky has also had multiple transfers in similar situations struggle to make the adjustment to the SEC.

The best players in that transfer class, led by Strong and Verdugo, could have their own MLB draft decisions to make.

Mingione and company will also need to work to keep multiple promising freshmen who did not play much down the stretch from considering transfer opportunities, but the apparent availability of significant playing time next season should help that quest. Freshmen Kyuss Gargett, Austin Fawley, Eli Small and Ben Cleaver all made late cameos in the blowout loss to Florida to get a taste of playing in a College World Series.

Right fielder James McCoy appears to be the most likely starter to return as a third-year sophomore. Former Northwestern transfer Patrick Herrera, one of just two reserve hitters to record an at-bat in the NCAA Tournament before the final game got out of hand, could also help provide some veteran leadership if he returns for his final season of eligibility in a larger role.

In many ways the 2025 season could be a transition year for Kentucky.

Younger players will be needed to step up in their first significant experience, but Kentucky will also need to decide as an athletic department what its investment level in baseball will be in the wake of the NCAA settling a lawsuit that opens the door for revenue sharing with athletes starting in 2026. As part of that settlement, scholarship limits are expected to be abolished, meaning schools will no longer be constrained by the 11.7 scholarships each baseball team is currently allotted.

Teams that want to invest in baseball will be able to promise more scholarship money to top recruits, but athletic department budgets will be stretched after allocating more than $20 million per year to share with athletes.

At UK’s Board of Trustees athletics committee meeting last week, athletics director Mitch Barnhart already sounded the alarm about difficult budget decisions coming in the year ahead. He vowed to do everything possible to avoid cutting staff or sports, but will that desire leave room to invest more in baseball? More investment in staff salary might be needed too after the College World Series run.

The good news is Kentucky fans showed their is an appetite for college baseball after basketball season ends. UK broke the attendance record at Kentucky Proud Park four times this season, including twice in the super regional. As one of a small group of programs that can claim to have packed more than 7,000 fans in for a baseball game, Kentucky looks like a school that could remain relevant in the SEC if the administration chooses to invest more in the program.

That possibility would have seemed laughable for much of the program’s history. Now, the biggest legacy for the 2024 Wildcats might end up being raising expectations for the program in the new college sports landscape.

“There’s no reason that this program can’t stay at the top and be among this group every single year,” Hagenow said. “With the staff that we have, all around ... and with the stadium and the fan base we have and Coach Ming leading the way, there’s no reason this team shouldn’t continue to have success.”

“And I think it takes years to build that foundation. But I think we definitely built it.”

UK baseball’s historic season ends in blowout loss to Florida in College World Series

Now that Kentucky baseball knows the way to Omaha, it will want a return trip