Kentucky baseball handles West Virginia

The fall semester is typically filled with football and basketball preseason. But some other programs are making some noise on campus. The baseball season is still months away but Nick Mingione’s program is having their version of a preseason.

Fall ball is up and running. Kentucky had multiple intrasquad scrimmages last week and hit the road to play a West Virginia program that has made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive super regional appearances. Just last season, WVU beat Kentucky twice in one-run games to advance out of the Clemson Regional.

The Mountaineers got the best of the Bat Cats last season after falling to UK in the Lexington regional in 2023. UK came out on top in multiple scrimmages up in Ohio on Sunday.

Cats win the day, 26-10, over 14 innings. pic.twitter.com/mzIk63lgWO

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) October 5, 2025

What happened in the scrimmages? These were the highlights.

— Kentucky fell behind 8-1 in the first scrimmage before scratching and crawling back for a 9-8 victory. Walks, hit by pitches, and movement on the base paths played a big role in the comeback.

— Former Nebraska and Houston pitcher Jaxon Jelkin got some work in the first scrimmage. The multi-time transfer is a legit MLB Draft prospect and could headline UK’s weekend rotation. Jelkin gave up a couple of runs but is healthy and has good stuff. Kentucky is banking on having him pitch in some big spots for the team this season.

— St. Bonaventure transfer Jayce Tharnish left the park with a home run also recorded a double. Both hits had an exit velocity over 100 mph. The outfield transfer batted over .400 in the A-10 last season and will be asked to play a big role for UK this season.

— Ryan Schwartz hit an opposite field grand slam to right field in the second game. The sophomore batted .317 in 60 at-bats last season with seven extra-base hits as a true freshman. The North Carolina native will be a big part of UK’s lineup this spring.

— True freshman Caeden Cloud hit a 413-foot bomb home run. The true freshman could give UK some slugging off the bench this season.

— Kentucky’s lineup: Jayce Tharnish (LF), Tyler Bell (SS), Scott Campbell Jr. (CF), Hudson Brown (1B), Ryan Schwartz (RF), Carson Hansen (DH), Tyler Cerny (3B), Luke Lawrence (2B), Tagger Tyson (C). Tharnish (St. Bonaventure), Campbell (USC Upstate), Cerny (Indiana), and Tyson (Louisville) are all first-year transfers.

Next up will be another intrasquad scrimmage on Friday, Oct. 17. UK will host Morehead State for another scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 26. The first game will occur in February but the non-conference schedule has not been finalized yet.