COLUMN: Portal Success, Offensive Revamp Lay Blueprint for Kentucky Baseball
BATON ROUGE, La. — For a program of Kentucky's stature in the Southeastern Conference, nothing is going to come easy in college baseball.
Head coach Nick Mingione knew that when he took the reins back in 2017, but has still been reminded over the course of his seven-year tenure that consistently competing in the SEC is a task that feels nearly impossible.
Following a magical first season that witnessed a Super Regional berth, UK struck out on making the NCAA Tournament for the next four complete seasons, including a couple of close calls on the bubble.
Seemingly stuck in the lower-middle to bottom of the best conference in baseball, a couple of changes needed to be made, or else the Wildcats were going to continue to be one of the punching bags of their SEC compatriots. So, Mingione did just that.
He dove into the transfer portal and returned with a heap of mid-major talent and a few Power 5 additions to boot. He ushered in a small-ball style that fit the mold of his new-look team. He even made changes to how he operated as a coach, leaning on the feedback of former players to try and make proper adjustments.
All of it worked.
UK's usual starting lineup featured four transfers, all of which came from smaller schools — 1B Hunter Gilliam (Longwood), SS Grant Smith (Incarnate Word), LF Ryan Waldschmidt (Charleston Southern) and CF Jackson Gray (Western Kentucky).
Kentucky had a team on-base percentage of .413. It dropped 55 sacrifice bunts and stole 94 bases. It won 40 games and made program history by becoming the second-ever team to make a Super Regional, joining the 2017 squad.
The 2023 Cats unfortunately found the same fate in that round of the postseason, losing two games, but the accomplishment stands. It also serves as a blueprint for how Mingione can build a consistent contender and not fall back into the same postseason-less rut that followed after 2017.
Not only did the four aforementioned transfers start, they were crucial pieces to UK's success all season. Gilliam (.324/.414/.551) and Gray (.338/.491/.543) combined for 25 percent of the team's hits and 26 percent of the team's RBIs. Waldschmidt (.290/.427/.445) and Smith (.281/.380/.448) also showed offensive flashes, while the entire quartet was above average defensively.
Kentucky knows that it can't compete with the likes of LSU for the top names that enter the portal like Tommy White. What it can do, however, is continue to pluck talent that's playing at a lower level and thinks it can succeed in the SEC. It's already added a portal piece for the 2024 season in Delaware State standout Trey Paige, who slashed .372/.468/.691 this year.
Is that an avenue that's going to carry a 100-percent success rate? Of course not. It's entirely possible that Mingione struck gold with the portal class he wrangled last offseason. But what if he continues to find gold?
There are already over 2,000 players in the portal ahead of the 2024 season, per D1Baseball. Options are plentiful, and there are hundreds of players like Paige that see an opportunity to make a name for themselves in Lexington.
Three starters — Gilliam, Gray and 3B Jase Felker (.292/.430/.354) — are out of eligibility, as are a couple of pitchers — notably Darren Williams (4-2, 4.26) and Tyler Bosma (4-4, 5.61) — and bench players. Barring players portaling out of the program or heading to the draft, the 2024 roster has the chance to look awfully similar to this season.
"We're close. It's not far off. We're really close. And these next two, three, four, five, six, eight weeks will help determine how the Wildcats will be next year," Mingione said following UK's Super Regional eliminating loss to LSU on Sunday night.
For a team that could potentially return five starters in the field and craft a new weekend rotation out players already on the roster, it won't take bringing in double-digit transfers to fill gaps. But given the success Mingione found this season, why not take a few more swings?
Kentucky is in a niche position in a conference full of top dogs. It now has the chance to use the 2023 campaign to its benefit and make success come the way of Kentucky Proud Park more than once every few seasons.
How Division-III roots are pushing Jackson Gray to the finish line in a special season HERE.
Roommates, Kentuckians, Brothers: More on Darren Williams and Mason Moore HERE.
The King of Work: More on catcher Devin Burkes and his MVP honors HERE.
Game recap of Kentucky's Regional-clinching win can be found HERE.
How getting hit in batting practice helps Kentucky HERE.
How hard conversations molded RHP Austin Strickland HERE.
Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.
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