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KSR Today: Kentucky recruiting, Bat Cats pain and the Preakness

Jack PIlgrimby: Jack Pilgrim05/17/25
Kentucky EYBL
Photo via Jack Pilgrim, KSR

Good morning from Memphis where the KSR team is ready to rock and roll for day two of Nike EYBL Session 2, taking in some of the best talent high school basketball has to offer with Kentucky’s top targets in 2026 and beyond competing in front of coaches this weekend for the first live period of the cycle. Joining us at EYBL — at least on day one? Mark Pope, Cody Fueger and Jason Hart, plus the surprise addition of the head coach’s youngest daughter, Shay.

We already have a running list of all of the players the Wildcats watched on day one, but what will day two bring? Expect some shuffling of coaches with the adidas 3SSB and Puma NXTPRO circuits also taking place this weekend with some sticking around and others trading places as they find their next batch of standouts.

Be prepared for all of the recruiting updates you ever hoped for throughout the day — plus several other important events to keep an eye on.

Déjà vu in Nashville for the Bat Cats

Remember how Thursday night unfolded for Kentucky baseball? A single strike away from pulling off the win over No. 9 Vanderbilt, the Commodores drilled a three-run home run to turn a 7-5 lead into an 8-7 loss on the final swing of the game. It was the collapse of all collapses, starting off the last series of the regular series on a sour note.

Then the Bat Cats did it again, losing in the exact same way just a day later. Up 8-7 in the ninth, James McCoy gave up a walk-off two-run homer to Jonathan Vastine, falling by a final score of 9-8 to move to 29-22 (13-16) on the year. Kentucky totaled 16 hits overall with eight of nine starters recording at least one hit, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Vanderbilt as Nick Mingione’s squad now currently holds the No. 13 seed in the SEC Tournament.

It’s not over yet, though, as the Cats are set to take on the Dores on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, live on SEC Network+.

One final opportunity to enter the postseason on a high note.

Kentucky softball faces elimination

Speaking of the postseason, Rachel Lawson and the No. 2 seed UK softball team have one final shot to stay alive in their run after falling to (3) Northwestern 4-0 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s Clemson Regional on Friday.

It marked the second consecutive shutout for the Wildcats after being shut out 8-0 in five innings by Georgia in the first round of the SEC Tournament last week. Kentucky has not won a game since beating Mississippi State way back on April 26, currently sitting on a six-game losing streak.

UK will face No. 4 seed USC Upstate at 4 p.m. ET in a win-or-go-home matchup on ESPN+.

Preakness Stakes 150 set to run

Sticking with the order of events, the nine-horse Preakness Stakes field set to race 1 3/16 miles for a $2 million purse at Pimlico will run at 6:50 p.m. ET, live on NBC and Peacock.

What do you need to know about the 150th running? There will not be a Triple Crown with Sovereignty out, but it’ll still be a must-see event with Journalism still participating as the favorite, plus Clever Again, Goal Oriented, Sandman and River Thames all among contenders, according to our resident horse racing expert Nick Roush.

Post positions and odds:

  • 1. Goal Oriented (6-1)
  • 2. Journalism (8-5)
  • 3. American Promise (15-1)
  • 4. Heart of Honor (12-1)
  • 5. Pay Billy (20-1)
  • 6. River Thames (9-2)
  • 7. Sandman (4-1)
  • 8. Clever Again (5-1)
  • 9. Gosger (20-1)

KAT sends Boston home

It was a very sad night for me, a diehard Boston Celtics fan. It was a great night for the rest of BBN, though, as Karl-Anthony Towns helped the New York Knicks dominate in a 119-81 beatdown in Game 6 to send the green and white home for the offseason.

KAT was one of four players with 20-plus for the Knicks, finishing with 21 on 8-12 shooting while adding 12 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 35 minutes. OG Anunoby (23), Jalen Brunson (23) and Mikal Bridges (22) were the other standouts while everyone on the Celtics stunk up the place. Congrats to the former Cat, KAT.

Nothing on the schedule today, unfortunately, but Oklahoma City and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will take on Denver and Jamal Murray in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. It’ll be the winner of that one vs. Julius Randle, Rob Dillingham and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the WCF. The Knicks will take on the Pacers in the ECF.

Georgia Amoore is out for the year

Life isn’t fair. Just weeks removed from watching her WNBA dreams come true, Georgia Amoore has undergone surgery to repair a torn ACL, ending her rookie season with the Washington Mystics before it even begins. She was just the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but suffered the knee injury just a few days into practice.

The Mystics announced the surgery and official timeline for return, which unfortunately will not come until the 2025 WNBA season wraps up.

Prayers for the 606

Things got rough late Friday night as another run of bad weather hit the state, this time with confirmed tornadoes touching down in Somerset, London and the surrounding areas. Catastrophic damage and casualties have been reported — Gov. Andy Beshear says the number is already 14 and growing — with the photos and videos nothing short of devastating.

The state has taken far too much damage and seen more than enough tragedy in recent years, another serious disaster and what comes next just hard to stomach at this point. No matter how heartbreaking the aftermath, though, Kentucky is a resilient state — especially folks from the 606. They’ve got fighters.

The KSR family is thinking of and praying for those impacted by last night’s storms. We love you guys.

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2025-08-02