I haven’t heard his name in a while and was wondering if he was still an option. He seemed to have a good summer, can really shoot, and like a very attainable prospect.

Good morning, HOB. Back over at the JCFTC for today’s Fan Day practice. I’ll share my notes and observations here in this thread, and if you got to go today, please chime in and share what you saw as well. Festivities get under way at approx 11 ET. Stay tuned…

* Good crowd shuffling in despite overcast skies and threat of rain.

* Scouts from Broncos and Cardinals checking things out.

Get back in here, idiots. Idk why they let us out of our cage. That's messed up. Let's just keep it all together for The Cats and get focused on our tournament run. Amen.

Wondering how the young DL is progressing? UK's pretty deep in the DL but thought this player may be able to contribute as a true freshman. Anybody with any word on Robinson?

The 5 I would choose, would be

LeBron James - 6'8"
Larry Bird - 6'9"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 7'2"
Magic Johnson - 6'8"
Michael Jordan - 6'6"

“I’m not letting [Zvonimir Ivisic] shoot any threes," Calipari said. "Big Z, 7-foot-2, he wants to shoot – no, no, no. You’re not shooting threes, so now he has to shoot twos. You know why? An elbow jumper, when you miss that, it’s kind of embarrassing.

“A three when you’re 7-foot-2 and you’re way out there? Ah man, he almost made that. No, you’re shooting twos and that means you’re going to get in the gym and get better or you’re going to be embarrassed all the time. And you know what? He’s getting better.”

Calipari just wants his guys to be at their most effective – even if it’s cool to see a seven-footer cashing in threes. It’s clear the Head Hog wants to see his big men in more of a prototypical role, focusing on blocking shots and finishing on the inside out of post-ups and pick and rolls.




“He would just rather see me take a mid-range shot because I’m going to make that more than I make a three, probably,” Brazile said. “His resume speaks for itself, so I just try to do what he says. This summer I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress with not shooting threes and just being what he calls an ‘attack dog.’”


So happy this dude is out of here. Same shit, different state!

Someone was providing an excellent pre-game analysis prior to each game last year. Sorry I’ve forgotten who it was. But I’m hoping we get to see that again this year.

Feels really weird to post this so early, but by popular demand I am getting a jump on things. Obviously, regardless of what happens this weekend (or next) we've had an oustanding year. Co-SEC Regular Season Champions and most SEC wins in UK baseball history. Huge accomplishments from Mingione, SEC COTY, and his team. I am not sure how much crow is left, but looks like I need to go back for seconds. Still, I think all of us want to see UK being consistently a contender and the next step in that process is 2025. Here is a very very early look of what that might look like. I'll try to continue to update as more information comes in throughout the next weeks/months. Also, as usual, if there is anything I have gotten wrong, please reply and correct me and I will be more than happy to fix it.

No Eligibility:
Ty Crittenberger (OF)
Nick Lopez (DH)
Ryan Nicholson (1B)
Mitch Daly (3B)
Rueben Church (3B)
Grant Smith (SS)

Cameron O'Brien (P)
Dominic Niman (P)
Johnny Hummel (P)
Trey Pooser (P)
Ryan Hagenow (P)

Draft Eligible:
Pitre (2B) - Drafted 58th overall.
Burkes (C)
McCoy (OF)
McCarthy (OF)
Waldschmidt (OF) - Drafted 31st overall
Herrera (UTL)
Higdon (OF)

Smith (P)
Hogan (P)
Moore (P)
Robinson (P)
Hise (P)
Byers (P)
Nove (P)
Frieda (P)

A lot of names here, but I just don't see a ton of them drawing a ton of interest from the major leagues at this point and time. I highlighted the two most likely to take the leap to the MLB, but I could also see Pitre taking a long look. Smith taking a long look and possibly Hogan. Burkes is an interesting one as at the end of last year I had him on my likely to leave list and do not have him there this year. Burkes is a RS Junior this season, so he can return next year but there are some advantages to trying to get drafted in your junior year and going rather than coming back for a senior year. One of those being that you have more leverage for some more money if you can threaten to return to school.

Departing/Transferring
Skowronski (UTL)
Howe (P)
Higdon (OF)
McCarthy (CF)
Fawley (C)
Smith (RHP)
Schramm (OF)
Frieda (RHP)
Applegate (RHP)
Hise (RHP)
Lafferty (RHP)
Bowen (UTL)

Depth Chart:

1B: Hage, Brown
2B:
SS: Gargett, Hindle, Franklin, Lawrence
3B: Herrea, Hairston,
C: Burkes, Small, Pelletier
RF: McCoy
CF: Cameron, Montoya
LF: Pratt, Harris, Youngblood, Strong
DH:

First thing to note is that this isn't a depth chart in the sense that I think these people will start as much as it just is a glance at where I think guys might be competing for playing time. Obviously, things change a lot if certain players decide to leave/return and there are a lot of guys who could play multiple spots.

I want to note here that I am not sure if Gargett, Hindle and Cameron will classify as redshirts. I know the rule now is that you can play a certain number of games in a season and still redshirt, but I am not sure if they fall under that. I am going to still list them as redshirts because I think that they likely did, but I could be incorrect here.

A lot of yellow here indicating that we could be a really young team next year. The fact that there are a lot of yellow spots leads me to believe that UK will likely dive deep into the transfer portal to find some older guys to plug into some positions where they might not feel they are strong/deep. 1B looks like a place where we might have a need as does LF. Right now, I just don't have anyone in my head that fills that hole in left. Even Pratt and Harris kind of seem to fit the RF mold more than LF given their size as freshmen and UK has only sparingly used freshmen under Mingione, so I am inclined to believe that they'd have to be real special (or UK real desperate) for those guys to become everyday starters in 2025.

Pitre going so high in the draft takes him off the board for UK in 2025. That was likely, but not a foregone conclusion. So, UK will need to replace their steady Eddy at 2nd. That will be a tall task given that Pitre was not only a fantastic defensive 2nd baseman, but also a strong hitter near the top of the lineup.

Key:
Freshman
Redshirt Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Grad Student
JUCO/Transfer Portal

PITCHING

Friday Starter:
Saturday Starter: Moore (I am putting him here for now, but I think it's very unlikely he returns).
Sunday Starter: Ryan Verdugo (RHP)

Things are scary in the weekend department. No one has stepped up to prove they can be a 4th weekend starter this year, so we have no clue who might be able to step up from our pool below and fill one or more of these roles. I imagine UK looks heavily to the portal to fill these spots as they have the past two years.

Verdugo comes to UK from CSU Bakersfield and right now he looks like a surefire starter. He dominated this past year with a 2.72 ERA with 93 strikeouts and 40 walks in 89.1 innings pitched. Had two shutouts. Opponents hit a paltry .208 against the righty who will be a senior next year.

Weekday Starter:

Anyone's guess here. Last year we went with a redshirt freshman with Lafferty. We could go that way again. I could see someone like Cleaver stepping into this role. I think he could redshirt again if he doesn't pitch anymore this season. Someone with more knowledge on redshirt rules, please correct me? So, that could be a way to get him more prepared for league play and a weekend role, if he has that in him.

Relief:
Jake Titus (RHP)
James McCoy (RHP)
Hayden Smith (LHP)
Robert Hogan (RHP)
Raymond Saatman (RHP)
Cooper Robinson (RHP)
Evan Byers (LHP)
Jackson Nove (LHP)
Jacob Price (RHP)
Ben Cleaver (LHP)
Evan Hart (LHP)
Tommy Skelding (RHP)
Nile Adcock (RHP)
Scott Rouse (RHP)
Nic McCay (RHP)
Ethan Walker (LHP)
Oliver Boone (RHP)
Chase Alderman (RHP)
Cole Hentschel (LHP)
Matthew Watson (RHP)
Simon Gregersen (RHP)

We lose a whole lot of reliable arms to graduation, but we get a chunk of them back. Hogan may return and he has the most innings out of the bullpen this year with 36. Nove isn't far off at 27.2. Byers has also been leaned on heavily. We also have a lot of lefty options, which we don't always have.

Rouse was a started at Radford, but the ERA doesn't jump out at you as being overly impressive at 5.94 with 69.2 innings pitched and 14 appearances. 78 strikeouts and 33 walks.

Adcock will be a junior next year (I believe) and is 6'2 180. Not the ideal makeup for a starter, but that is what he did in JUCO, starting 13 games and having a 2.92 ERA through 74.1 innings pitched with a real good 94 strikeouts. Walked just 25.

FRESHMEN

Tyler Bell (SS) - Drafted 66th overall
Leighton Harris (LHP)
Bradley Ferrell (RHP)
Nate Harris (OF)
Zak Spurrier (RHP)
Nolan Belcher (C)
Logan Grubb (LHP)
Tristan Hunter (RHP)
Aidan Larkin (SS)
Hayden Mains (RHP)
Khaleel Pratt (OF)
Jack Sams (SS)
Cameron Owens (SS)

Obviously Bell hasn't signed at this time, but being taken so high is a very big indication that the team feels like they can and will sign him. So, I would next expect him to make it to campus.

Preseason rankings are nothing but popularity contests.

Worth a watch or re-watch.
Perry with 45 points on 10-16 shooting from behind the arc.
Sheppard with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
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