D1Baseball Projects Kentucky as National Seed With Two Weeks Left in Regular Season

What a difference a week can make in the world of college baseball.

One week ago, Kentucky wasn't an absolute lock to make the NCAA Tournament. Field of 64 projections had the Wildcats as a No. 2, traveling elsewhere for Regionals following a fourth consecutive SEC series loss. There was plenty of meat that still had to be taken off the bone.

Insert a vigorous sweep over a top-five South Carolina squad in Lexington, and all of a sudden UK may be in the running to not only be a host for the first weekend, but also a potential Super Regional host, if it were to make it that far.

On Wednesday, D1Baseball released its new Field of 64, projecting Kentucky as the final national seed, sitting at No. 8 overall. The three teams headed to Lexington to compete at Kentucky Proud Park in this scenario? Indiana State (No. 2), Notre Dame (No. 3) and Kent State (No. 4).

Now sitting at 34-13 (14-10 SEC), No. 1 in the RPI and No. 1 in strength of schedule, the metrics and résumé are both looking good for UK when compared to some of the other teams clashing for national seeds and a chance to host.

Head coach Nick Mingione talked to reporters on Wednesday about hosting and what's still left for his team to play for across the final two weeks of the regular season and in the SEC Tournament in Hoover.

"We just had a really good open conversation with the team. We covered 'hey, here's where we're at,'" Mingione said. "I just thought it would be really important that the messaging was the same, so we all got on the same page with that and explained to them that 'hey, look, based on where we are right now, we will be in the postseason. I congratulated them on that, you know, that we were able to do that for the first time since 2017."

"They have knocked that door down, but they're still bigger things to play for. they understand that every goal is still out there. There's nobody that's ran away from the SEC," he continued. "It can all change really quickly. But we just told them, 'there's a lot to play for and all of our goals are still ahead of us.' The way I see it, I think there's about 15 teams that are still fighting for that top-eight national seed and we're one of them."

So what does Kentucky need to do in its final six regular season games to ensure it's a host when the bracket is revealed at the end of May?

Well, first acknowledge that it won't all be contingent on wins and losses for the Cats. Some teams around the country will play their way into hosting, some will play their way out. Given where Kentucky stands in the aforementioned metrics, however, it should have a good chance if its hosting chances were up against a middling Power 5 team or top mid-major.

Three games at No. 23 Tennessee and three games at home against No. 7 Florida will round out the regular season. It's safe to assume that any outcome is possible for the Bat Cats. Don't rule out 0-6, don't rule out 6-0. It's the nature of playing in the SEC.

Across the last three seasons, 16 SEC teams have hosted. Out of those 16, 12 of them have won 17 or more conference games. If Kentucky were to go 3-3, vying for the top-eight spot would still be plenty possible, while one of the top-16 spots would feel rather safe. Win more and the odds increase, lose more and they decrease. Simple as that.

Currently, D1Baseball is projecting five other SEC teams to host, along with Kentucky:

LSU (No. 2 overall)
Vanderbilt (No. 3 overall)
Arkansas (No. 4 overall)
Florida (No. 9 overall)
South Carolina (No. 10 overall)

Tennessee, Kentucky's opponent this weekend, has won 38 of 43 games played at home at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this season and is also doing what it can to try and swipe a hosting bid come Selection Sunday. Florida has been in or around position to hold a national seed all year, so the final week of the season could be crucial for both the Wildcats and Gators.

Game one between Kentucky and Tennessee in Knoxville on Friday, May 12 is set for 6:30 p.m. EST and will air on SEC Network+

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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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