Mitch Barnhart ordering Chipotle in Atlanta Airport when Kentucky made NCAA Tournament

While Kentucky across the Bluegrass State were sweating out the NCAA Baseball Tournament selection show on Monday, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart was ordering Mexican food. On Monday, Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde spilled the beans on where Barnhart was during the selection show.

“I can report that Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart was in line at the Chipotle in the Atlanta airport when the Wildcats were revealed as one of the last at-large selections for the tournament,” Forde wrote on X. “(So was I.)”

Perhaps Barnhart had received word ahead of time that Kentucky received a bid. Or, on a more pessimistic note, perhaps he didn’t think the Wildcats had any chance of dancing this postseason.

No matter what the truth is, Kentucky is officially in the tournament and heading to the Clemson Regional. Along with Clemson, obviously, the Regional will include 2-seed West Virginia and 4-seed USC Upstate.

This is only Kentucky’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Baseball Tournament in program history. Four of those appearances have been during head coach Nick Mingione‘s tenure.

Kentucky was on the tournament’s bubble this year after going 0-3 against Vanderbilt in its final regular-season series and then falling to Oklahoma in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Alas, the selection committee ultimately revealed that Kentucky wasn’t even one of the last four teams to make the tournament.

Kentucky finished its regular season with a 29-23 overall record and a 13-17 mark in conference play. However, a 13-17 record in the notoriously strong SEC is nothing to scoff at.

Amid its ups and downs, Kentucky put together some solid moments on its résumé, namely when it won series against Tennessee and Oklahoma. Now, the Wildcats will have to find their rhythm as they look to keep their season alive.

Mingione never doubted that his team would have a spot in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. After Kentucky’s loss in the SEC Tournament, he was already discussing how he’d help his team prepare for their postseason run.

“What we’ll do is get back and give them a day or two just to get their bodies right, as we’ve been on the road since Vanderbilt last week,” Mingione said. “We’ll immediately get into practice. We’ll set up some modified scrimmages this weekend to keep their arms in shape and in a good spot. We’ll keep making sure our pitching is lined up and continue to keep going.”