KSR Gameday: Kentucky faces NC State in College World Series

The long wait is finally over in the Bluegrass. On Saturday, Nick Mingione’s Kentucky baseball team will take the field at Charles Schwab Stadium. Big Blue Nation meet in Omaha. Omaha meet Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky (45-14) will face off against NC State in the second of three SEC vs. ACC matchups in the opening round. The matchup will be a rematch of the 2017 regional when Kentucky came from the loser’s bracket to beat NC State twice to advance to super regionals in Mingione’s first season in Lexington.

On Friday, the event delivered in a big way with North Carolina and Tennessee both winning in walk-off fashion to advance to the winner’s bracket. That means Florida State and Virginia will now face each other in a single-elimination game on Sunday.

The run to a national championship for the Bat Cats starts right now.

The Broadcast

No. 2 Kentucky (45-14) vs No. 10 NC State (38-21)
2:00 p.m. ET | Saturday, June 15 | Charles Schwab Field

• TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Ben McDonald, and Dani Wexelman)
• Streaming: Watch ESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Darren Headrick, Keith Madison)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 106 or 190 and the SXM app
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast
• Game Thread: KSBoard

KSR has been delivering UK Sports news in the most ridiculous manner for almost two decades. Now, you can get even more coverage of the Cats with KSR+. Ahead of a busy summer of recruiting for the basketball and football programs, now is the perfect time to join our online community. Subscribe now for premium articles, in-depth scouting reports, inside intel, bonus recruiting coverage, and access to KSBoard, our message board featuring thousands of Kentucky fans around the globe. Just $1 gets you one month of access. Come join the club.

The Odds

The smart folks in the desert believe Kentucky will advance to the winner’s bracket on Saturday. The Wildcats are a moneyline favorite (-156) to advance at FanDuel. Saturday’s total has been set at 9.5 runs. Kentucky is a 1.5-run favorite on the run line with plus odds (+128).

A future wager can be placed on the Bat Cats to win the College World at nearly 5/1 (+490). Those numbers could get worse with a Kentucky win this afternoon.

KSR Storylines

Our team has been hard at work this week preparing for today’s big event. KSR’s Daniel Hager and Steven Peake rolled into Omaha yesterday evening and will have live coverage from the scene for as long as Kentucky stays in Omaha.

Miss some of this week’s content? Let us help get you ready for a very big day on the diamond.

• Nick Mingione reflects on Coach of the Year award
• NC State players preview Kentucky
• How Nick Mingione landed Robert Hogan out of the transfer portal
• The SEC prepared Kentucky for the postseason
• Kentucky is soaking up the College World Series experience
• Nolan McCarthy hears from Pete Rose

Bookmark KSR’s YouTube Channel

There will be no shortage of written content this week, but Steven Peake will be producing some excellent video content for KSR this week in Omaha. We will have Rapid Reactions, podcasts, and press conferences. Hear from Mr. Peake and Daniel Hager in their preview episode on the “Bat Cat Beat”. You can also hear from Nick Mingione, Mitchell Dally, and Johnny Hummel in Kentucky’s introductory press conference at the College World Series.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Tennessee takes commanding lead in Jello Shot Challenge

Rocco’s is the unofficial home for fans attending during the College Series, and Tennessee made a massive statement. The Vols got a big ninth inning for an impressive comeback victory over Florida State to advance to the winner’s bracket. But the celebration happened at Rocco’s.

The Vols have a big lead in the Jello Shot Challenge.

The good fans of @Vol_Baseball have cracked the top 8 call time and they are still climbing! What a way to end day one of baseball. Let's end night one of drinking with similar excitement! #roadtoroccos pic.twitter.com/kSVfpMVsu3

— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 15, 2024

Tennessee’s NIL collective, The Volunteer Club, is running a special where they are taking $10 donations from fans, and half of that money will be spent in Omaha to purchase a $5 jello shot. The Vols could be tough to beat this week, but we should see a big run from Kentucky fans today.