Kentucky Baseball 2026 Outlook

[Derek Terry]

I didn’t understand that either. All 3 were never touching campus. Echeman I never thought would come either. Jenkins turning down draft was huge and both Duffey and cerny presumably coming is as well. Only Walker was a bummer if he does sign.

You all must be looking at it through a different lens than I am. A great outcome would've been getting a positive surprise somewhere. Neither of the two high school guys who started trending toward signing late in the process fell through, and the two who had a real chance to get through (Essenburg and Walker) are both likely to sign. Jenkins was a good enough prospect that someone could throw some money at him, but nearly a handful of people I talk to frequently felt like he'd show up since he committed in September. Cerny was a late add as a possible draft guy but he always had a pretty good chance of showing up. Duffey is one of my favorite transfer additions but never heard concern at all on him not showing up.

I don't think it was a brutal draft or a disaster or anything like that. Avoided anything out of left field. But if you would've asked me pre-draft what a good outcome would be, it would've been Jenkins, Cerny and at least one of Essenburg or Walker.

 

[vhcat1970]

Ponatoski article today. Behind paywall I think. In sports section.

Cincinnati Enquirer eNewspaper

This full replica of our printed product provides you the newspaper as you know and love it from the convenience of the web.

cincinnatienquirer-oh.newsmemory.com

 

[TeamAmerica]

I heard Lucas Moore was a UK commit and Mingione pulled his offer the day before signing day. Any truth to that?

 

[Comebakatz3]

I heard Lucas Moore was a UK commit and Mingione pulled his offer the day before signing day. Any truth to that?

I would say that this is unlikely. It is possible that his offer was pulled close to it, and there is evidence that backs up that Moore was committed to UK and just before signing day in November 2023 flipped to Louisville. However, from what I see there is not anything that made it a surprise type of thing that Moore changed from UK to UL at the last minute and that prior to signing day people knew that he was a 'recent commitment" to UL. Of course, I don't know if this was Moore's decision or UK's or a "mutual" decision.

 

[TeamAmerica]

I would say that this is unlikely. It is possible that his offer was pulled close to it, and there is evidence that backs up that Moore was committed to UK and just before signing day in November 2023 flipped to Louisville. However, from what I see there is not anything that made it a surprise type of thing that Moore changed from UK to UL at the last minute and that prior to signing day people knew that he was a 'recent commitment" to UL. Of course, I don't know if this was Moore's decision or UK's or a "mutual" decision.

If it was a " mutual decision " it was a terrible one.

 

[Comebakatz3]

If it was a " mutual decision " it was a terrible one.

Ehh. Baseball is a fickle sport. Maybe the hardest sport to recruit. You have guys all the time that blow up at some point. Tyler Guilfoil was barely a top 1000 pitcher out of high school and he blew up into being a First Team All American at UK. Connor Heady was the 88th best player in his class and 14th best SS. He never lived up to that billing and struggled until his final year at UK. The staff may have missed on Moore. It happens. I'm not going to rake them over the coals for that. It was also at a time when, as I recall, the staff was trying to emphasize the transfer portal more, which led to the 2024 CWS appearance.

 

[TeamAmerica]

Ehh. Baseball is a fickle sport. Maybe the hardest sport to recruit. You have guys all the time that blow up at some point. Tyler Guilfoil was barely a top 1000 pitcher out of high school and he blew up into being a First Team All American at UK. Connor Heady was the 88th best player in his class and 14th best SS. He never lived up to that billing and struggled until his final year at UK. The staff may have missed on Moore. It happens. I'm not going to rake them over the coals for that. It was also at a time when, as I recall, the staff was trying to emphasize the transfer portal more, which led to the 2024 CWS appearance.

LOL- Is it to late to ask him to come back? The kids a hell of a player.

 

[Bullpencat]

Another UK Baseball social media teaser just dropped this evening.

 

[ScWildcat3]

Sounding like a hs pitching commit.

 

[Bullpencat]

2026 SEC schedule has been released. You know it will be tough but overall I think we came out well. Our permanent opponents are South Carolina and Vandy. The five schools we do not play are: Texas, Oklahoma, TAMU, Mississippi State and Georgia.

 

[Bullpencat]

Another "Welcome to BBN" has just dropped on social media for the baseball team.

 

[Lukasz0brzut]

 

[Bullpencat]

2nd ranked player in the 2027 class in the state of Kansas. LHP

 

[Bullpencat]

Not sure exactly what is happening but on Will Pryor's social media he has a picture from yesterday laying in a hospital bed with the caption "the road back starts today". He is a transfer RHP from Belmont.

Maybe DT can comment more?

 

[Seamhead Ninja]

Not sure exactly what is happening but on Will Pryor's social media he has a picture from yesterday laying in a hospital bed with the caption "the road back starts today". He is a transfer RHP from Belmont.

Maybe DT can comment more?

Non-arm injury. Will miss the 2026 season.

 

[Bullpencat]

Another "Welcome to BBN" teaser dropped this afternoon.

 

[Bullpencat]

6th 2027 commitment announced today:

Traxton Roberts (RHP) (IL)

He joins:
Brayden Singleton (LHP)
Tristan Steger (C)
Jackson Fossitt (LHP)
Ty Schmeidler (LHP)
Owen Hughes (LHP)

not sure how to count Jimmy Williams (SS) or if he will make it to campus.

 

[Seamhead Ninja]

6th 2027 commitment announced today:

Traxton Roberts (RHP) (IL)

He joins:
Brayden Singleton (LHP)
Tristan Steger (C)
Jackson Fossitt (LHP)
Ty Schmeidler (LHP)
Owen Hughes (LHP)

not sure how to count Jimmy Williams (SS) or if he will make it to campus.

Williams is a '26.

 

[Bullpencat]

Williams is a '26.

Would love to know your thoughts on this situation. Since he has already been drafted isnt it most likely he will be drafted again? What would you think the chances are he even makes it to campus?

 

[Seamhead Ninja]

My experience is that you never know. Sometimes you get burned like a few who should have made it to campus for last season and sometimes they show up on campus. There are so many variables. With NIL, it really changes the math.

 

[Bullpencat]

Scrimmage this morning and again Schwartz is killing it. He may turn into our team leader. Tharnish still hitting well, getting on base and stealing. Bennett threw a few scoreless innings but the rest of the pitchers were a little meh.

 

[ScWildcat3]

Sounds like Tennessee might not be the same anymore. Tony v might be gone

 

[Lincoln_Ranger]

Predicting Spring ‘26 Starting Lineup

• C Alex Duffey
• 1B Hudson Brown
• 2B Luke Lawrence
• SS Tyler Bell
• 3B Tyler Cerny
• LF Jayce Tharnish
• CF Scott Campbell
• RF Ryan Schwartz
• DH Carson Hansen
• 
  
• Weekday SP
• Jack Bennett
• 
  
• Weekend Rotation
• FRI - Jaxon Jelkin
• SAT - Ben Cleaver
• SUN - Nate Harris

Interested to see how the last scrimmage of the Fall camp goes on Sunday. I think most of starting position are pretty set right now but there seems to be a good amount of depth 1-9 and in the pitching rotation to garner some serious battles throughout the season. Tagger Tyson will push to get reps at catcher especially if he has a hot bat. He plays hard, runs well, and could play a little OF or DH if he has bat going. Where do Will Marcy and Ethan Hindle fit in? Both have shown flashes during the year but both the OF and IF positions are a crowded group. Can FR Caedon Cloud, Owen Jenkins or Braxton Van Cleave find a way to get some reps? Cloud had a big summer and started off fall camp really good and cooled a little the last couple of weeks. Jenkins has settled in nicely the last couple of weeks in fall camp and has a nice power bat. He’s the 3rd catcher at this point but could he have a similar path of Ryan Schwartz last year where he starts to get some run by mid-season. Van Cleave has started a little slow and looks like he is still trying to get back to 100% from his knee injury his SR year but has a ton of talent and a lot of upside. He hit a DEEP HR in their last scrimmage and looks the part athlete wise.

Pitch staff wise there seems to be A LOT more quality depth than last year. When your possible weekday starter, Jack Bennett, is your mid-week starter after being a Friday starter at WKU last year that tells you a lot. The only battle that could still happen is for the Sunday weekend spot. It’s possible Jack Bennett could get some run there early if Nate Harris doesn’t lock it down, but Soph Leighton Harris may also be a very viable candidate too. L Harris had a big summer and good fall that could really put him in contention. Nate Harris hasn’t been great in the fall and may have a battle to keep that spot. There is some really nice depth in the bullpen that appears to be more talented and impressive with the likes of Connor Mattison, Ira Austin, Tommy Skelding, Burkley Bounds, Oliver Boone, and Jackson Soucie as the most likely top relievers. There is a little lack of depth in LHP in the bullpen so could FR Will Coleman find a way to get some quality run in the bullpen. This team really appears to have the pieces to be a major contender nationally and in the SEC. UK hosting another Regional in Lexington should be a goal for this group.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Predicting Spring ‘26 Starting Lineup

• C Alex Duffey
• 1B Hudson Brown
• 2B Luke Lawrence
• SS Tyler Bell
• 3B Tyler Cerny
• LF Jayce Tharnish
• CF Scott Campbell
• RF Ryan Schwartz
• DH Carson Hansen
• 
  
• Weekday SP
• Jack Bennett
• 
  
• Weekend Rotation
• FRI - Jaxon Jelkin
• SAT - Ben Cleaver
• SUN - Nate Harris

Interested to see how the last scrimmage of the Fall camp goes on Sunday. I think most of starting position are pretty set right now but there seems to be a good amount of depth 1-9 and in the pitching rotation to garner some serious battles throughout the season. Tagger Tyson will push to get reps at catcher especially if he has a hot bat. He plays hard, runs well, and could play a little OF or DH if he has bat going. Where do Will Marcy and Ethan Hindle fit in? Both have shown flashes during the year but both the OF and IF positions are a crowded group. Can FR Caedon Cloud, Owen Jenkins or Braxton Van Cleave find a way to get some reps? Cloud had a big summer and started off fall camp really good and cooled a little the last couple of weeks. Jenkins has settled in nicely the last couple of weeks in fall camp and has a nice power bat. He’s the 3rd catcher at this point but could he have a similar path of Ryan Schwartz last year where he starts to get some run by mid-season. Van Cleave has started a little slow and looks like he is still trying to get back to 100% from his knee injury his SR year but has a ton of talent and a lot of upside. He hit a DEEP HR in their last scrimmage and looks the part athlete wise.

Pitch staff wise there seems to be A LOT more quality depth than last year. When your possible weekday starter, Jack Bennett, is your mid-week starter after being a Friday starter at WKU last year that tells you a lot. The only battle that could still happen is for the Sunday weekend spot. It’s possible Jack Bennett could get some run there early if Nate Harris doesn’t lock it down, but Soph Leighton Harris may also be a very viable candidate too. L Harris had a big summer and good fall that could really put him in contention. Nate Harris hasn’t been great in the fall and may have a battle to keep that spot. There is some really nice depth in the bullpen that appears to be more talented and impressive with the likes of Connor Mattison, Ira Austin, Tommy Skelding, Burkley Bounds, Oliver Boone, and Jackson Soucie as the most likely top relievers. There is a little lack of depth in LHP in the bullpen so could FR Will Coleman find a way to get some quality run in the bullpen. This team really appears to have the pieces to be a major contender nationally and in the SEC. UK hosting another Regional in Lexington should be a goal for this group.

I think Jenkins will be really interesting. Jenkins was ranked 28th in the country nationally by Perfect Game and 1 of just 3 guys in the top 28 to head to college. I think most of the guys that would come to college from the HS ranks that are ranked that high would expect to play right away. I don't know Jenkins and don't know his attitude or his viewpoint or what he may or may not have been promised to head to UK, so this is all just speculation, but I have to imagine that they have to work him in somehow this season. So, how they manage that will be interesting, obviously with also an eye towards developing him and making sure he's happy enough to stick around at UK for 2027 and 2028.

Personally, I hope that UK does not go with Jackson Bennett in the midweek. That's just not my philosphy on how to deal with midweek games. Personally, I view those as being a training ground for young pitchers that you want to get up to speed by the time the post season comes around. Help them to build confidence against some weaker opponents. I imagine that UK is going to redshirt most of their freshmen pitchers, so I don't think many of those would be viable options. However, maybe Tommy Skelding, who threw just 16 innings last year could use some early work in the midweek as a starter to grow some confidence. Cameron Owens redshirted a year ago. Doesn't seem to be starter material, but might work to be an 'opener' type, especially in weeks where we have two midweek games. Tristian Hunter is another that needs to come along and Oliver Boone hasn't pitched since he was at Cal in 2024, so might be good to kind of bring him along in the midweek before moving him up. We certainly want to win midweek games, but I still like using them to get young pitchers experience more than using a senior there. Would much rather have that experienced senior come out of the bullpen in long relief on the weekend where those games are much more important.

 

[ScWildcat3]

This is shaping up to be an exciting season. This will be Ming’s most versatile team offensively imo between speed and power. The CWS team had a really good offense but had some gaping holes that held it back. I look for Schwartz and Bell to take huge steps forward and hopefully Brown. If Tharnish is the real deal like he’s shown so far we could have a very formidable lineup. Loved Burkes but glad to finally have a catcher who should hit the ball.

Pitching we need Jelkin to return to his old self. Cleaver is going to be Cleaver. The 3rd starter is crucial and then finding a few very trusted bullpen arms. Last year I never felt good when the bullpen came in no matter how good they did.

 

[ScWildcat3]

Did anyone go to the scrimmage yesterday? If so how did they look?

 

[Seamhead Ninja]

They looked indifferent to being there. Understandable to a degree, I guess. End of a long fall, looking at three days off for fall break, opponent name that likely didn't get the juices flowing, overcast and gray, not warm. Just not a lot of energy like we're accustomed to.

But there were still things to get excited about.

On the pitching side, Cleaver and Nate Harris got their work in. Neither were super sharp but they also haven't pitched much this fall. They were healthy, which is most important. Connor Mattison was excellent until a bad throw with two outs by the defense cracked the door and he kinda lost the mojo. Jackson Soucie and Jack Bennett were terrific. Freshman Will Coleman struggled to find the plate.

Hitters couldn't buy a timely hit. Credit the Morehead pitchers for throwing a ton of strikes all day but we didn't look locked in like normal at all. Jayce Tharnish is going to be a menace though. He can flat out fly. To me, just looked like a team that was tired and not completely mentally engaged.

But it's October. ZERO reason to worry, IMHO. The collective talent is obvious.

 

[ScWildcat3]

I can’t wait for the season. Really feels like a team that can get to Omaha and have a shot at making noise unlike last time we just didn’t have the depth needed. Thanks for the update. Living so far away I don’t get to hear much on the baseball team.

 

[Bullpencat]

They looked indifferent to being there. Understandable to a degree, I guess. End of a long fall, looking at three days off for fall break, opponent name that likely didn't get the juices flowing, overcast and gray, not warm. Just not a lot of energy like we're accustomed to.

But there were still things to get excited about.

On the pitching side, Cleaver and Nate Harris got their work in. Neither were super sharp but they also haven't pitched much this fall. They were healthy, which is most important. Connor Mattison was excellent until a bad throw with two outs by the defense cracked the door and he kinda lost the mojo. Jackson Soucie and Jack Bennett were terrific. Freshman Will Coleman struggled to find the plate.

Hitters couldn't buy a timely hit. Credit the Morehead pitchers for throwing a ton of strikes all day but we didn't look locked in like normal at all. Jayce Tharnish is going to be a menace though. He can flat out fly. To me, just looked like a team that was tired and not completely mentally engaged.

But it's October. ZERO reason to worry, IMHO. The collective talent is obvious.

Agree with the word "indifferent" although I did not expect that from a Ming team. IMO, Tyler Bell needs a break. After a long season last year playing almost every game and then over the summer with Team USA I think he is worn out. But, overall lots to be excited about with this team. Kudos to Morehead though, they came to play. Thought Austin Kearns son from West Jessamine looked like a good player.

 

[ScWildcat3]

Agree with the word "indifferent" although I did not expect that from a Ming team. IMO, Tyler Bell needs a break. After a long season last year playing almost every game and then over the summer with Team USA I think he is worn out. But, overall lots to be excited about with this team. Kudos to Morehead though, they came to play. Thought Austin Kearns son from West Jessamine looked like a good player.

I’m looking at driving up from South Carolina for a weekend. Any idea when then non conference schedule might be finalized? Never been to a home game only the away games. I really want to experience KPP