KSR Today: Kentucky on the diamond, Preakness, and Keshad Johnson
Good morning, folks! We’ve got a sports-filled Saturday ahead of us. For starters, Kentucky softball and baseball both hit the diamond this afternoon for important matchups.
Softball will look to make the Evanston Regional final of the NCAA Tournament with a showdown against No. 12 Northwestern, which is set for 1:00 p.m. EST in Evanston, IL on the ESPN app. With a double-elimination format, the winner of today’s game advances to Sunday’s final while the loser will play again on Saturday night. UK beat Miami (OH) in six innings 9-1 on Friday to make it to this point.
Meanwhile, the Bat ‘Cats will look to win its final series of the regular season against No. 4 Florida at Kentucky Proud Park. Kentucky was routed in game one on Thursday 10-3 but bounced back on Friday to tie the series with a 6-4 victory. A win on Saturday (2:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+) would be huge for the Wildcats’ postseason resume as they look to host a Regional in Lexington for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
But that’s not all we’ve got going on today…
The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes
The 148th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD has arrived. The second leg of the Triple Crown is set to go off at 6:50 p.m. EST on NBC. This year’s field has shrunk down to just seven participating horses in what is being considered a historically weak group. First Mission, the perceived top challenger to Kentucky Derby winner Mage, was scratched on Friday. Controversial trainer Bob Baffert, who trained National Treasure (3-1), will also make his return to horse racing following a suspension from the sport.
Below are the current Preakness Stakes odds as of Saturday morning for the $1.5 million purse. Also, make sure to check out KSR’s Preakness picks with handicapping expert Peter T. Fornatale.
- National Treasure 3-1
- Chase the Chaos 30-1
- Mage 4-5
- Coffeewithchris 20-1
- Red Route One 8-1
- Perform 12-1
- Blazing Sevens 5-1
Keshad Johnson announcing transfer decision
Just a few days ago, the Big Blue Nation was expecting today to come with good news for the Kentucky men’s basketball program. But the tides shifted dramatically on Friday.
San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson will make his decision later today. Once thought to be trending toward the Wildcats, he now appears to be leaning in a different direction, albeit to the same mascot.
Coming off a visit to Lexington, the 6-foot-7 wing graduated from SDSU on Sunday before turning to the decision process regarding the second and final stop of his college basketball career. Kentucky joined Arizona — his second-to-last visit — as the clear 1A and 1B options, with Johnson prioritizing winning first and foremost.
With that in mind, Arizona sits as the new favorite in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, while three Crystal Ball picks have come in favor of Arizona over at 247Sports, headlined by national recruiting expert Travis Branham — who boasts an all-time hit rate of 93.58%. Kentucky will now look to dive back into the transfer portal for new potential targets. We’re also still waiting to hear about stay/go decisions from Oscar Tshiebwe, Chris Livingston, and Antonio Reeves.
Men’s tennis falls in Elite 8
The comeback magic finally ran out for Kentucky men’s tennis. In a rematch of last year’s national championship match, the Wildcats came up short once again to the Virginia Cavaliers, which beat UK 4-2 in the Elite 8 on Friday afternoon in Orlando, FL.
After a weather delay forced the match to tip over from Thursday night to Friday morning, the nearly four-hour-long marathon came to an unfortunate end for the ‘Cats. Even still, it was another impressive season for Kentucky, which made its sixth Elite 8 in program history.
“I’m very proud of the year we had and [I’m] proud of the way we competed today,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “We had some chances in the last 10 minutes. We came up a little bit short, but it was not for a lack of effort or a lack of courage. The Cats are not going anywhere. We will get back to work and hopefully get back to this position.”
Doubles:
Court 1 – No. 28 Ayeni/Baadi (UK) def. No. 58 Montes/Woodall (UVA): 7-6 (9)
Court 2 – Rodesch/von der Schulenburg (UVA) def. No. 67 Lapadat/Mercer (UK): 7-5
Court 3 – Draxl/Weekes (UK) def. Goetz/Kiefer (UVA): 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
Court 1 – No. 9 Chris Rodesch (UVA) def. No. 13 Liam Draxl (UK): 6-4, 6-3
Court 2 – No. 18 Alafia Ayeni (UK) def. No. 26 Inaki Montes: 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3
Court 3 – No. 59 Joshua Lapadat (UK) vs. No. 49 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (UVA): 5-7, 6-4, 6-5
Court 4 – No. 87 Ryan Goetz (UVA) def. Taha Baadi (UK): 6-4, 6-2
Court 5 – Alexander Kiefer (UVA) def. Jaden Weekes (UK): 6-4, 6-3
Court 6 – Mans Dahlberg (UVA) def. Charlelie Cosnet (UK): 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4, 2, 6
Rhyne Howard honors Terrence Clarke
After winning Rookie of the Year and making an All-Star team in 2022, Rhyne Howard will look to build on that impressive season in year two. The former Kentucky Wildcat will hit the hardwood for her second WNBA season this afternoon when her Atlanta Dream takes on the Dallas Wings at 1:00 p.m. EST on ABC.
Ahead of her sophomore debut, Howard was tabbed as a Top 25 player in the entire league by ESPN and even donned the cover of SLAM magazine where she paid tribute to her late close friend and fellow former ‘Cat, Terrence Clarke. You can learn more about the profile SLAM did on Howard here.
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