Kentucky Baseball snubbed from NCAA Tournament bid
Bad news, Big Blue Nation… Kentucky Baseball did not earn an invite to the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Despite being one of the hotter teams on the bubble and a slayer of giants with the third-most wins over the RPI Top 25, the Wildcats did not hear their name called on Selection Monday when the 64-team field was revealed.
Not for a lack of trying, Kentucky won four of its last five games of the regular season, including an entire series over Auburn, a tournament team, followed by three wins down in Hoover at the SEC Tournament. The Cats came close to a fourth win and a spot in the championship game, but the grueling tournament schedule wore Kentucky’s bullpen down in the longshot game against No. 1 Tennessee.
In the end, the committee put more stock in Kentucky’s unimpressive spot in the RPI at No. 51 than in the stretch of seven wins in nine games before succumbing to the Vols. Regular season home losses to Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Ohio were too much to overcome.
It’s the fourth straight time Kentucky has missed the tournament since reaching the Super Regional in head coach Nick Mingione’s first season in 2017.
NCAA Tournament Bracket
2022 Kentucky Baseball Season In Review
The exclusion from the NCAA Tournament wraps up the 2022 Kentucky Baseball season with 33-26 overall record and a 12-18 record in SEC play. Highlights include the semifinal run as the SEC Tournament’s lowest seed and the home series win against No. 1 Tennessee. Kentucky was the only team to win a series against the Vols all year.
Other accomplishments to be proud of:
— Opening series win over Big 12 regular season champion TCU
— Winning three of four against Auburn, a top-10 team in the RPI when Kentucky played them
— Two wins against Vanderbilt, a top-10 team earlier in the season
— 12 wins in total against the Top 25 in the RPI this season
— Four Wildcats named to the All-SEC Tournament Team
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